Thursday may have been one of the most God- filled days yet! We had walked a little more than a mile when
Charles stopped and asked us what we were doing, where we were going, etc. When we explained, he asked if we were okay on everything and offered us some snack cakes. We were fine, so we just thanked him and went on. He drove on then turned around and said "Let me just give you a ride back to Hwy 90." So we hopped in the back of the truck for a couple of miles. Right as we were getting out, Leslie (my college roommate) called to tell me that she had Hannah Katherine. They were both doing well and were going home on Friday...Praise the Lord!!!We talked a little more with Charles and then we were on our way. We had only been walking about a mile when
Albert turned around and offered us another ride. Again just for a couple of miles. He shared some of his story, and we were able to pray with him when he dropped us off. By this time we were on the outskirts of Sulphur heading out of town. We only thought we would make it to Sulphur that day, so we prayed and asked the Lord if we should continue or not. From what we gathered from the people we talked to, Vinton was the next town and it was about "10-15 minutes away." But that's by car...that means hours for us. There was still quite a bit of day light left, so we thought we'd try to make it. So again we set out...after about 2 miles, I had to go to the bathroom, but praise God their was a house and a body shop right across the street. The house had Matt 6:33 over the front door--"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." Sound familiar? It's the verse I share almost every time we get the opportunity to speak. The people who worked there--
Rita & Larry--ended up being really nice. They offered us some food, but we weren't really hungry. Then they prayed for us before we left. Chris & I were chatting as we walked, and I was trying to remember everyone's name that we had met that day until I had a chance to write it down. Chris said, "The names spell CARL, so just remember that." We kept walking and walking and walking and these huge trucks started coming by us. We figured that I-10 must have had a wreck and some of the traffic had been detoured to Hwy 90. There was very little shoulder, so we kept having to move over to the edge of the ditch or just stop walking all together. After we had walked about 8 miles, it started to get dark, and we were getting a little tired. It was about time for another water break, so we sat our packs down and asked the Lord to show us what to do. We were still quite a few miles from Vinton, and there wasn't really anywhere to walk or to camp. About that time a car made a u-turn. It was 
Stephen Cyprien with the LA State Police!! Turns out, he knows Tracy Morgan because they worked together for several years when Tracy worked on the road!! Officer Cyprien wanted to give us a ride to Vinton because it wasn't very safe to walk at dark on a road with no shoulder! God answered prayer quickly that night!! We shared with Officer Cyprien about our journey and he shared a little about his faith on our way to a truck stop in Vinton, LA. When we got there, he took us inside and bought our supper. Then he hurried out to get back on the road!We sat down to wait for our food at a table next to a table where a man sitting by himself waited for his food as well. I went to wash my hands, but when I came back, Chris was talking to
Walter. He's from Honduras and was named for a missionary. Now he and his wife Maria (who's from Monterrey, Mexico) live in Houston. Walter had seen us walking that day and Chris had seen him when he drove by because he was hauling a huge red crane. Walter & Maria go to Lakewood Church in Houston (since the 80's). This caught my attention because Beverly Morgan told us that if we went to Houston that we needed to go to that church if it were at all possible. Joel Osteen is the preacher there...Chris & I didn't know much about him, but we've heard a lot of folks talk about him and his book. Also there's a Spanish service after the English service, and Marcos Witt is the pastor. (Now I got excited because Marcos Witt is one of the biggest names in Praise music in all of Latin America!!) We were having such a good time with Walter that he wanted to see if there was room for us to stay at the hotel that night. He checked, but they were full! We said, "Oh don't worry about it...the Lord will work something out!" He invited us to come up to his room after we finished eating, so we could talk a little more.When we just about finished, another couple sat down at the table where Walter had been sitting.
Jimmy & Debbie are from FL & from SC respectively, but they saw the scripture on our packs and started asking us what we were doing. We told them, and they shared that they were both Christians as well. They were carrying a load of building supplies to Houston that night. They asked if we were interested in a ride. We told them that we'd love to ride with them, but probably only to Beaumont, TX. We didn't want to cross Texas too fast, but I-10 & Hwy 90 run together from where we were in Vinton, LA almost all the way to Beaumont. Since I-10 isn't all that safe, we thought Beaumont was the place to go! (I'm not sure if y'all remember this or not, but Chris had been wanting to ride in an 18-wheeler this whole trip...so he told me God was still giving him birthday presents when he found out that Jimmy & Debbie were going to give us a ride!!) We asked if they would mind watching our packs for a few minutes while we told Walter what had happened. So we went up to Walter's room and told him about the situation and he said, :"Beaumont, I've got a really good friend in Beaumont--good Christian people we've been friends with for years." So Walter called Jerrie to ask if we could stay in one of their rental properties for the night. She welcomed the idea, so we went back down to tell Jimmy & Debbie what happened. By then, they had finished eating, so they were ready to go. We 
loaded up and started towards Texas! Debbie shared that she had been raised in the church, but Jimmy had quite a story of restoration. He had been an addict to heroine & cocaine, but God radically saved him from an overdose one night about 30 years ago. He's been clean ever since! On the way to Beaumont, the guys had to go to the bathroom...another one of those divine appointments because Jimmy was able to explain to a young man in front of the store about his need for a Savior. (All this while Chris was using the bathroom!) Pretty amazing, huh?!! We went on and finally got to meet Jerrie & her husband, Bill at a truck stop in Beaumont. We all prayed together, and Jimmy & Debbie headed on to Houston.We chatted with Bill & Jerrie, and Jerrie told us that the heat was out at the rental house, so we could stay with them instead. We were so happy because it really is tons more fun to talk to families and to interact with them. (Although we enjoy time alone as well ;-) !!) When we walked into the house, they introduced us to their son,
Carl! (We couldn't believe it...God had spelled his name out through the people we met that day even before we met him! Isn't that incredible?!!) We went to sleep just praising God for a day full of miracles and of seeing Him at work! (That's just one day of this walk!! He has such an intricate design!! It's unbelievable!)Friday, we slept a little extra because we were tired after walking, but then we went to eat with Jerrie & Carl. After lunch we went over to meet
Mr. KC & Mrs. Bea. They are Jerrie's adopted parents, and they are newlyweds! They love the Lord and each other so much...it was great to get to know them. Mr. KC had been feeling pretty sick that day, but we started praying together and all of that started to change! He was just praising the Lord--Calling out to his friend! It brought tears to my eyes to see such authentic love and devotion to our Lord and Savior!
After we left their house, we went over to the church where both families attend Parkway Life Church. We were able to share with Pastor Keating, and he took time to share with us for several hours. We were pretty impressed with his willingness to spend time with us.
Colby (Jerrie & Bill's son) called on our way back to the house, and Jerrie invited him and his wife, Heather, to stop by and meet us. We shared with them a little, and then they went out to have a date night! Then Scotty (Bille & Jerrie's daughter) stopped by after she got off work, so we were able to spend some time with her. She works for Goodwill as their Senior Accountant in Beaumont, so we were pretty shocked to hear how much she is able to be involved with the people the company helps out. 
Scotty (Amber, RE, Jerrie, & Scotty pictured on the left) shared several touching stories of people getting their lives back on track. Just before she left, she told us that she had to go to Houston on Saturday to get decorations for a banquet she was in charge of decorating for at work. She would be stopping by in the morning for directions and we could ride with her if we'd like. Chris & I weren't sure what to do, so we just told her that we'd let her know.Walter called just after Scotty left to invite us to his house in Houston for the weekend. He & Maria wanted to come pick us up in Beaumont and bring us to Houston. He said they had several surprises for us, and they wanted us to go to church with them to hear Joel Osteen & Marcos Witt. (Apparently Marcos Witt's parents were missionaries to Mexico who had plans to start a seminary, and they came to Lakewood Baptist Church when they were raising support over 30 years ago. John Osteen (Joel's father) was the pastor, and the church collected more than $600 for them. So when they were starting a Hispanic Outreach, Joel Osteen contacted Marcos Witt to see if he would like to be the pastor. God's plan came full circle!!) We told Walter that we would pray about it and let him know in the morning.
Carl offered to give us a tour of Beaumont...we were pretty impressed by his knowledge of the area and at how well he could navigate such a huge city. Then we had a little ice cream and headed back to the house.
Saturday morning we felt that the Lord was leading us on to move on to Houston. We hadn't had a date night on week 14 (We planned to have a
date night--just us every 7 weeks.), so we would have a date day while Walter and Maria were at work. Then we could get together with them and learn more about what God's doing in their life. Lyn & Kim from the Virginia Crew gave us money for a date night when we were in Pearlington...thanks y'all! We had fun at the movies, and then went to Chic-Fil-A for a snack. (Who knows how much longer we will be able to eat there!!!)As we walked in the door, one of the employees started asking us questions. We started sharing our story and
Dustin Payne came a little closer. We talked a little more, and he said "lunch is on me today." It turns out that he's the manager. So we got to meet a lot of the employees that day and learn their stories. The managers all had Bible verses on their name tags. It was pretty cool to see what they had picked out...Acts 2,Colossians 1, etc. We enjoyed our food, and then started playing the game that came in the kids meal. Just something that we could do together and have some fun--ha, ha, ha.
We actually met quite a few of the employees and talked with them while we were there. (Pictured l to r: Grace, Josh, Justin (in blue), Brandon, Jeremy, David & CE)Chris went to the bathroom, and
Ricardo came up to our table to ask about what we were doing. When I explained about our trip, he told me that his business had taken him back & forth across Mexico & Guatemala. I got out my map, and he told us some must see cities and some places that we should avoid at all costs! I was just amazed...God brought Ricardo & his family to eat at the same Chic-Fil-A as us, at the same time as us, to offer us advice! Our God is soooo good!We walked around the area a little more and explored the mall until
Walter & Maria picked us up! They took us to eat at this great Latin American restaurant called Red Onion: Seafood y Mas. It was sooo good, but the conversation was even better. They are planning to move back to Honduras pretty soon. They've been buying land and equipment for about 15 years so that they can start a cattle ranch in Honduras. Once they build their house, they want to build a bunkhouse to house missionaries who come to Honduras to work. It will have two sides, one for the guys and one for the girls. Then there will be a large common room in the middle. Their hope is to feed and house short-term missions teams to reduce the cost of the missions trip so that more people can be involved. They want to work with all denominations who are interested in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ! We couldn't believe it! Yet again, God brought a family who is on the verge of stepping out on faith into our lives. Not only that, but there's a good chance that we'll be able to work together one day with the teenagers that we bring to Honduras on missions trips! Wow! God can see so much!! I can't even take it all in!Sunday morning, we went to eat breakfast at a little El Salvadoran restaurant and then went to church
. Joel Osteen was there. He spoke on how to handle critiicsm. We have to just shake it off...don't drink of their poison. In between the English service & the Spanish service, we met 
John Watkins. He writes acrostics for different words or names as God gives him revelations. So he wrote out the acrostics for Chris, Rachel, Embler & Faith.After we shared with him a little, it was time to go into the Spanish service. I was a little sad that Marcos Witt was out of town that day, but the music and testimonies were really good!! At the beginning of each year, they have a special service where different people give testimony of what God has done in their lives. So we heard about a financial miracle (The family began to tithe joyfully, and God started paying their bills on time.), two stories of unexplainable healing (one of a lady's throat being healed & another of a baby who wasn't supposed to live or be normal, but was just as normal as any other 2-year-old), a family that was restored after God sobered the father, and God's supernatural protection. (A young man was shot at the beginning of January at close range, but the bullet didn't hit any organs!) It turned out to be a great service!! (even though Marcos Witt wasn't there...ha, ha, ha) After church we went to a Cuban restaurant which was also really tasty. Then we went back to their house to meet their "children." We were greeted by two dogs--
Sydney (left), Levi (right), & the cat--Oreo (who has been unavailable for a picture). The next door neighbors also came over to visit for a little while. 
Sabrina is a single mom raising Tony & 
Hailey by herself. They all enjoy coming over and visiting Walter & Maria because they are so full of love to share with Sabrina & the kids!!This week we've been taking care of Sydney & Levi, spending time with Walter & Maria, and catching up on all that we were behind on. We are hoping to help pack the supplies that they are carrying to Honduras. They go yearly to Honduras to take care of details on their property and to carry school supplies, medicine, & clothes to the people who live in the village near their property. What God is using them to do as they wait on His timing to completely move to Honduras is amazing! We are also hoping to buy other supplies that they can carry down with them. We'll have to see what God works out! So you are up-to-date now...It's Thursday, Feb. 1st! Where will we be tomorrow? No telling. What will we be doing? Only God knows! We'll let you know pretty soon! Keep seeking Him first in all that you do! We love you! God bless you!
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