Gonzales, TX to Seguin, TX—God’s timing and plan, not ours!

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Monday morning…we actually slept in…I’m not sure if we’ve been as busy as we were last week at any other point on this journey! I’m not even sure if we’ve ever experienced anything like it before at all! So we were expecting things to slow down and for it to be time to go, but God definitely did not indicate that it was His plan for us to move on. We were able to rest a bit and catch up on some writing before things really got going on Monday. I went to supper with Ranee from Emmanuel Fellowship to learn a little more about the ministry God is starting through her. She’s still praying about it a lot right now, but she wants to help people by starting a business and using the proceeds to meet needs in the community. She’s still working on the product—a new kind of building material. While she is doing that on the side, God has given her a really good, full-time job at Cal-Maine.

While I was with Ranee, Chris went to the men’s Bible study out at Ricky Lester’s camp house. They barbequed…in Texas that’s a way you cook the meat and what you call the meat when you are going to eat it, but it’s not barbeque like Chris and I know it. It’s very tasty though…made from beef instead of pork and it’s not cut up into fine pieces either. They enjoyed a good time around the fire talking and then they spent some time in God’s Word.

On Tuesday, we went to the Gonzales Youth Center. They have an after-school program for 6th-8th graders to help with homework and to give the youth of the community something to do after school. They have several computer labs, as well as basketball and football. We spoke to the entire group and to several individuals after we finished our testimony. Jonacia and Brittany (pictured) were two of girls who stayed after to ask a few questions and to share with us. We were also able to talk to the director, Pat Anders, and one of the teachers, Marilyn Viator, for an extended amount of time. They told us that many of the churches in the community supported the Center, and a lot of the high school students who had been through the program often came back to help. We also learned that they have a paid staff to supervise the different areas and to provide support for the participants.

From the Youth Center, we went to the Country Fellowship (Cowboy Church). It was more than we expected. We sang several songs—all played on guitars and fiddles. Then a local man brought a simple salvation message. It was a down-to-earth and heart-felt service!! After the service, we talked to lots of people, and we ate fajitas—the meat was so tender it melted in your mouth!!! The steer roping started after the meal…we were mesmerized to see the men and women at work. One roped the horns and the other the hooves…we couldn’t believe how hard it was!! Wow! We also met Pastor Pete and his wife, Abby. He’s the pastor of the Cowboy Fellowship in Pleasanton, TX. (The Country Fellowship is a church plant from the Cowboy Fellowship.) The church in Pleasanton has grown from a once/month service to a thriving church with 700-900 in attendance each Sunday. We were interested in learning more…and if the Lord leads us in that direction, we may stop by the Cowboy Fellowship?!

Then came the time Chris had been waiting for…Loni agreed to give him his 2nd riding lesson. Chris rode Lady so hard that she was sweating…he smiled the entire time he was on that horse though!! I thought that he’d be sore, but NO…I think I might have married a cowboy after all!! He decided to give Lady a little break, so I could ride her. I had to keep making her go slower because she was used to running around with Chris!! It was so funny…I liked just weaving her in and out of the poles and going around the ring. Chris got back on and rode her hard again (If you look close enough at the picture, you can see the dust at the horses hooves.), so he learned about walking a horse around and letting it cool down after a good work out! He had sooo much fun!

While we were riding outside, we met M. L. whose love for the Lord was incredibly apparent as we talked. Then we met Dennis & DC Kaspar. I was intrigued by DC’s shirt because it was in Spanish & English and it said Panama. I asked him about it, and he told me that he had gone on an extreme mission trip with T Bar M (in New Braunfels, TX). They flew in to Panama, but they canoed several hours and hiked several hours before they reached the remote village that they were going to minister in. I was really interested, but I didn’t think we’d get to visit the camp or find out much more information since it was north of where we were. I just stored away the information for later.

Wednesday was another eventful day! We went to FCA to speak at lunch…Chris and I didn’t really know what to say because we’ve never spoken a 2nd time at the same place, so we prayed a ton. We ended up encouraging them to step out on faith in their own school and community—to trust that God would work through them right where He has planted them!!

From FCA, we went to North Avenue Intermediate School (5th-6th grade) to speak. We taught the kids about where Peru is and the countries we’d go through, we showed them our packs and supplies, and we answered tons of questions. Again, we saw God’s hand at work because students asked things like “How do you hear God’s voice?” and “How do you know what God wants you to do?” among the common questions like “Where do you sleep?” and “How do you take a shower?” We were all too happy to answer ALL of their questions!! We also saw several of the students that we’d met in the previous week—Angela, Camden, Vanna, along with several of the girls from the Youth Center. One of the girls we met at Country Fellowship, Calli, has an amazing story of healing. She fell off of her horse when she was barrel racing, and the doctors didn’t believe she would live. Today she’s healthy and happy and without any sign of a problem…she even barrel races!! After the students left, we met two more miracles…one of the boys was struck by lightening and lived to tell about it and his friend, Christian, came to meet us as well. Both boys love the Lord so much. The principal, Anne Boothe, invited us to work on her computer and offered to take us to supper. She’s obviously a kind and caring women…and she’s doing a great job at the school.

From North Avenue, we went to the Wilson’s house. We rode with Ki and the boys (Camden & Brevin) to the basketball game. The girls and John had invited us to share scripture and to pray with them again before the game. We shared from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” We talked to them about playing as a team and again inviting God into their game. He’s not just for Sunday or when you are at church but for every aspect of your life. The game went to overtime, and Chris & I just kept praying, “Lord, may you receive all of the glory!” When the Gonzales girls won the game, they pointed up to give God the glory. They circled up at mid-court and they gave Him thanks. The score? Yeah, He left His mark again…49 to 57... (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12…5+7 is 12) They were beginning to see His hand and to realize He’s part of everything if we surrender to Him and allow Him to be in control!! The girls really wanted us to come to their next game, but we knew and they knew it was time for one of them to step up and share the scripture and pray before the next game. We said our good-byes and took pictures of everyone. They are such a special group of girls who are talented in so many ways!

While we were in Gonzales, we heard a lot of stories and learned a lot of lessons. One story that we are anxiously awaiting to hear the end of is about the message on the parable of the talents. A little over a month ago, Pastor Travis at First Baptist Gonzales, preached a message on the parable of talents, but he stopped right at the part where the master gave the servants the money. Then he offered anyone who was willing $5. They were to be stewards of that money, and at the end of February, give back to the Lord what they had left of the $5. Some people mowed lawns, a few cooked, others sewed, one sang…and tons of other things that we haven’t even heard about yet. Mrs. Carol baked bread…she spent the initial $5 on supplies and made a profit, so she bought supplies one more time. She turned in $260 on Sunday along with her story of baking bread and taking care of a couple of walking missionaries!

Thursday was pretty uneventful to start with…we just washed clothes and got ready to head out of town. We prayed and debated between Seguin and Stockdale and finally decided on Seguin. John Wilson called to see if we were absolutely sure we were leaving—he wanted us to go to the basketball game. We told him we were leaving and that we were going on to Seguin. He immediately told us that he was going through there that night on his way to scout the team they would play on Friday. He wanted to give us a ride. (A little confirmation that we had chosen the right city!) We accepted his offer, and met him that afternoon. Little did we know that he had a good friend in Seguin, and John had no intention of dropping us off “just anywhere.” We arrived at the wellness center where Dane, John’s friend, worked only to meet Dr. Bill Squires (Dane’s former professor from Texas Lutheran University and current teaching partner for one class at TLU) and his Uncle Ray. Dane (pictured with Ray) called Bill to see if we could stay the night with him. Chris and I were a little stunned at how fast it all happened without our knowing that any of it was going on… I had hoped to see the campus of TLU, but to actually meet a professor from there and get the inside scoop…I was shocked…almost speechless!

Bill and Ray (who was also a professor...of art) quickly took us to the grocery story and then to Bill’s condo to fix supper. We had a great Vietnamese style stir-fry…then (as if that wasn’t enough) Bill called one of his students, Andrew Traeger. He’s majoring in Biology, headed to grad school next year, then on to med school. Bill assured us that Andrew would also be a senator or the president someday. (Chris and I initially wondered at such a statement, but that was before we met Andrew!) When Andrew arrived, he talked with us and learned about what we were doing. (In the picture...l to r: CE, Dr. "Bill" Squires, Andrew, & Ray) He explained that he lived in New Braunfels at a place called T Bar M and that they did a lot with missions and sharing Christ through sports. (I stared in disbelief…this was the same place that the Kaspars told us about in Gonzales.) After chatting for a bit, Andrew stepped outside. (I thought he left but NO! Andrew was making phone calls.) He came back in to tell us that he felt sure that someone at T Bar M would like to meet with us on Friday and then he’d drive us to Stockdale or whatever town that we wanted to go to. I’m telling you…Chris & I felt like we were in a daze…we couldn’t believe how things were coming together. We agreed to meet Andrew the next day (Friday 2/23) at chapel and let him know what we planned to do from there.







Pictured below...Brian with his curling broom...we'd never met anyone who played, and we'd never even seen the sport except for on the Olympics...so we learned a little bit!!