We planned to leave Dilley, TX on Tuesday (3/13), but we woke up and it was raining. We thought we were supposed to leave, so we started praying to discern what the Lord wanted us to do. Well, then it started hailing! So we knew that it wasn't time for us to leave yet! We spent some more time with Pastor Phyllis learning a ton and fellowshipping together! She and Chris decided that they were going to watch the Spurs game that night to cheer them on to victory. So we went to the store to get some food for the game. When we were there, Shon and Bryce were there getting supplies for the Men of Purpose Bible study. Chris had forgotten that they were meeting that night, so he told them that he might see them after supper.
We ate at Pacho's that night and then Chris decided that he wanted to go to the men's group. He thought he could make it home to see the 2nd half of the game. The study was wonderful (so he told me...since I didn't get to go this time...ha, ha, ha) Shon talked about the need that we have as Christians for each other. One person alone can light a small space, but together we can light up the world with the love of Jesus!! At the end of the study, they prayed together for quite some time. Chris asked the men to pray for our safety and that we would hold fast to whatever the Lord showed us to do even if others questioned us or tried to deter us from what He had called us to. Several of the guys from The Glory Ranch prayed for the Lord to help them forgive...because without forgiveness it's not possible for the Lord to completely heal them. It was really a wonderful night of sharing together...Chris was so pumped up when he got back to Pastor Phyllis's house. (and the Spurs won!!)
Wednesday we ate lunch at Pacho's with Pastor Phyllis and the crew from the Glory Ranch was there!! We finally got a picture of
David & Gayla together and a 
picture of the whole gang to top it off! We stopped at the bank to tell Chico (& Karen & Gage) bye, and we all prayed together. From there we started walking. Before we had even gone 100 yards, Dustin, Cindy (his mom), and Kaitlyn (his sister) stopped us to talk to us and to help us along the way. 
Dustin met Chris the night before at the Bible study. We had just passed under then interstate when another car stopped to talk to us. It was 
Sheliadawn and her daughters, Kortne & Kaktys. Her husband heard about us from Chico and they were really excited to meet us and help us along the way. We went into the bathroom and put on sunscreen so that we wouldn't get burnt again. Then we walked a few more minutes before Dr. Hugo (from the Baptist church in Dilley) stopped us to find out how we were doing! It was so sweet...we felt so encouraged as we left out of Dilley! So many kind people in that town!We walked about 30 more minutes and were almost ready to take our first break when a truck pulled off the road in front of us. Out hopped
Burtice Hughes, an 84-year-old farmer, from Dilley. He wanted to know what we were doing...then he wanted to give us a ride. While we rode, he told us all about himself, his family, and the things he had experienced in life. We got to his ranch, but he refused to stop there. He was determined to carry us on to Carrizo Springs because that was the next town along the way.When we got there, we checked our e-mail to see if we had heard from anyone and then started walking. Now that the time has changed, we can walk later in the evening. As we walked, we prayed and tried to figure out what to do next...to continue on to Eagle Pass (45 miles more) or stay in Carrizo Springs. Pastor Lance and Brother Jimmy (the mission's director that we ate with the previous Wednesday) had both told us about a church in Carrizo Springs, but we weren't sure if that's where we were supposed to go. We finished praying about the same time that Mr. Vargas stopped us to find out what we were doing. When we told him, he told us to check in at the Chamber of Commerce to get a map of the city. He also thought that the lady there would know about a place for us to stay.
We went on to the Chamber of Commerce even though it was already 5:10, and we knew it would be closed. We got there and sure enough they were supposed to have closed at 4 pm...but
Paula was still there!! We went in and started talking to her...she let us print out some of our prayer cards and she invited us to her church. (The same Baptist church that Pastor Lance and Brother Jimmy had told us about!!!) We knew we were supposed to go...so we left the Chamber to get some supper before it was time to go to church. On our way, we met 
Fabian, Manuel, and Jason. They asked a ton of questions and were enjoying their Spring Break. We decided on Pizza Hut since we weren't sure when we were going to eat anymore pizza!We got a pretty big surprise there...I've told you that God has been providing everything for us, but this was a first. We were talking with our waitress,
Sasha, and she was asking questions about our packs and then our journey. The next thing we know, Sasha comes back to our table to tell us that the family that had just left paid for our food!!! We didn't know them, we didn't talk to them, and we didn't even know that they even saw us! I was shocked to say the least! We talked a little more and then needed to leave in order to make it to church on time. We were about a 1/2 a block away when we heard someone calling us. It was Valerie, one of the waitresses from Pizza Hut...the manager, Marana sent her out to give us a gift for the journey. We couldn't believe it! God provides! He amazes me with how He's going to do it!! (In the picture, Marina, Sasha, Valerie, Philip, and Lencho.)Wednesday (3/14) night we went to First Baptist Carrizo Springs. We met Pastor Robert and his wife, Laura, and the music/youth minister, David. They had a brief business meeting followed prayer...It was a special time where the congregation divided up into groups and prayed for specific requests. We didn't know which group to go with, but a lady in front of us told us that the group in the back was praying for Pastor Lance's trip to the Sudan. We went back and sat down with them, and we quickly found out that we were sitting with Ralph and Sue Wilson, retired missionaries to Honduras, and Nacho, a man who loves to share the Gospel with anyone who will listen!! We prayed for several other special requests including the soldiers who are fighting in Iraq. After the service was over, the pastor invited us to stay in the church's apartment that they use for visiting pastors, missionaries, etc. Then Nacho invited us to go visiting on Thursday in Asherton (a town close by) where they have begun a new church plant in a primarily Hispanic neighborhood. We were really excited about the doors that were opening up in Carrizo Springs!
The
Wilsons walked us over to the apartment (They stayed in it for a while when they retired from Honduras before they found a house to live in.), and they stayed to chat a little while with us. We were excited to learn that they were in Choluteca in the southern part of Honduras where we don't know very many people. So we learned a little about what they did...they were church planters. (We didn't find out exactly all that they had done until we met their daughter, Charlotte...they planted 30 churches in that region of Honduras!!) We did ask them about one little village--Aluberin--that we visited this past summer that was several hours south of Tegucigalpa. It is a tiny place about 12 miles off the main road but it takes 1 1/2 - 2 hours to travel that distance in a car! I didn't really think that they would even know where I was talking about, but I was wrong...they had spent a lot of time out there working!!! All of us were so excited to share stories of our time out there!! We also shared about the Garifuna Bibles that we are hoping to deliver later this year, and they knew the man who translated it! Chris & I were a little sad that it was so late because we would have loved to talk with them more, but they made plans to call us on Thursday evening to see if we could meet their daughter and her family and see their ranch.Thursday morning (3/15)
Pastor Robert took us to breakfast. He shared that his younger brother was instrumental in his coming to know the Lord. He had changed a lot, but Pastor Robert thought that being a Christian was just another phase that his brother was going through. His brother spoke truth to Pastor Robert from God's Word...on his way back to school that night Pastor Robert fell asleep and almost had a head-on collision with an 18-wheeler. Then he began to seriously think about what his brother had told him...just a little while later Pastor Robert accepted Jesus as his Savior! He finished the degree he was working on which had nothing to do with the Bible...over time God began calling him into the ministry...first as an associate pastor then about 11 years ago as a senior pastor in Carrizo Springs. We really enjoyed sharing with him and hearing his story and what God is doing in his life even now!After breakfast, we went over to the church, and talked with David (the music/youth pastor). We also met
Nellie, the church secretary. When we asked her if there was anything we could do to help her, she said not really unless you know how to work on a website. I've had a little practice, so I started trying to help her. I tried several things, but we really weren't getting anywhere. Around that time Nacho called to find out where we were and to see if we were ready to eat lunch and head over to Asherton. I made plans with Nellie to come back on Friday morning to work on the site. (Needed some time to think and to pray about how to fix it...that's what I have to do on our site too!!)We went to lunch at Andy's (not the same as the one we have in NC). From there we went to visit a couple of families in Carrizo Springs. We stopped to talk with
Raul and Jordan (Nacho's relatives). Raul had gotten into some trouble and Nacho wanted to ask them if they knew Jesus as their Savior. When they said "yes," he asked if there was anything we could pray with them about. So we prayed for their family and for the trouble that Raul was in. Next we stopped at a house that someone had asked him to visit. The mom and one of the daughters were at home, but they were about to go to an appointment. They asked us if we could come back later. The last place that we stopped in Carrizo Springs was the house where Gracie, Nacho's wife, works. We had prayer with her boss, another lady who works there and a few family members.On our way to Asherton we stopped at Nacho's house so that he could take his medicine, but he also brought out his guitar. We spent a little time praising the Lord...it was perfect timing because I was getting a little tired, but singing praises to our Master gave me energy to keep going!! We went to the little
Mission to pray before we began our visits. Our first stop was with a lady who was on her way to the doctor, but she was more than happy for us to pray for her healing. Our 2nd visit was with 
Minerva...they had passed by her trailer many times, but she had never been at home. After we chatted a little, Nacho asked her what she thought would happen to her if she died. She began to tell us about the good things that she did, and she thought that she'd go to heaven maybe. Nacho asked her if she wanted to know for sure that she'd go to heaven. Of course she did, so he began to lay out God's plan to save us through his son, Jesus' death and resurrection. She was shocked and excited that it was so easy to be saved. She asked questions and we asked questions. Before we left, she prayed to accept Jesus as her Savior! We were so excited!Next we stopped at a house where several ladies were outside with their children. We began to talk to them and share about Jesus with them, and they told us that they went to church and read their Bibles daily and that they were Christians. We were happy to hear that and told them we were excited that they too were part of the family of God, and we continued on our way.
Chris picked out our last stop. He saw some keys laying on the trunk of the car and no one in sight. He thought that we could give the owner the keys to the car before someone drove off with a vehicle that wasn't their own, and at the same time we could share with them the key to entering the kingdom of God.
Casey came out as we approached the door because the dog was barking. We gave him his keys, and Nacho asked if we could come in for a bit. We learned that Casey works on cars and had had quite a few close calls while driving. Chris began sharing his testimony of how he came to know the Lord and Casey was very interested. Chris lead him in a prayer of repentance and asking Jesus to cleans him of his sins. We left a Bible with him and prayed with him for his grandfather before we left.We drove back to Carrizo Springs to visit with the family who asked us to come back later. When we came up to the yard...three girls were in the front yard.
Jerika (right), Jadema (middle), and their friend, Rachel (left). Their mom, Yesenia, was inside asleep. We didn't know whether to share with them or not, but I had my little evangecube that explains our need for Jesus as our Savior, so we decided that I should explain it to them. What followed was probably one of the saddest things I've ever experienced. Just as I was beginning Yesenia came outside. I felt better about showing them the cube with her there. I talked to them about the bad things that we do and that the payment according to the Bible is death, but Jesus died in our place so that we could live...so that we could be in God's presence again. We told them that Jesus was the only way to go to heaven...to be friends with a Holy God. We can't do anything that makes us good enough to deserve being in God's presence. The last scene on the cube shows that each of us must make a choice...to accept what Jesus did for us on the cross and confess Him as Lord (our Boss) or reject Him...even not making a choice is making a choice because we are deciding not to accept Jesus. I asked them if they wanted to make a choice to follow Jesus. Jerika spoke up first and said that she wasn't interested in it...this swayed Rachel and Jadema to say the same thing. I looked to their mom and she said...the girls are okay...they are angels to me. It broke my heart. I wanted to reason with them. I know that it has nothing to do with me. I wasn't upset for that reason...I was so sad that they rejected Jesus and what He did for them. I could have cried at their loss...you see without Jesus...I don't know why anyone would want to live or even how they could live. Life is hard. Without His strength, I would never make it. Please pray with me that others will come by and plant seeds in the lives of this family...pray that they will come to know Jesus before it's too late for them to make the best decision of their lives.Friday morning...I had been praying about the website, so I had a few new ideas that God planted in my brain. After working for an hour or so, we got it to work....both Nellie and I were so excited!! Praise God! Pretty soon after that Brother Ralph and Chris stopped by to get me for lunch.
Sister Sue had been working on lunch all morning, so we were really excited to have a taste. We also learned that Charlotte (their daughter) was coming to lunch as well as Hope, Hannah, and Katie (3 of her 8 children). Well, the food was delicious as we expected and the company was wonderful too! We played outside in the 
tree house and on the 
swings...we admired the beautiful 
Texas Blue Bonnets...we chatted. It was so fun! We even saw a chair that came from Aluberin!! The girls really wanted us to see 
something special that their grandfather could do...so Chris and I looked on in amazement when Brother Ralph grabbed the fireman's pole and held himself perpendicular to it! Not bad for a 76 year-old man!!From their house in the city limits, we went out to the ranch to explore and ride horses. As you can imagine
my "cowboy" husband was so excited! After the lessons that Loni gave him in Gonzales, he felt ready to run a little faster. We went out to the pasture and called the horses in. After they'd eaten a little, Brother Ralph taught Chris how to saddle the horses. Then they rode them around to the house. The girls showed me the 
flower gardens that each of them had made while we waited for the men to come around to where we were. 
Katie rode almost the whole time the horses were out...Charlotte, Hope, Hannah, and I took turns when we could pry Chris off for a bit. It was really fun!! Then Brother Ralph gave Chris a few more pointers, and they took off flying! The girls took me over to the trampoline and we had a great time playing together.
Dinner time was approaching, so Charlotte wanted to initiate us into the family with a Slack family tradition. Every Friday night, she makes about 12 pan pizzas for the family to share (her husband and the other kids were out of town that night, but she still fixed all the pizzas) I thought to myself...well, it might taste okay, but homemade pizza isn't usually all that great. Boy was I wrong...I had to ask for that recipe! It was soooo good!! Brother Ralph and Sister Sue were there as well...what a great time with their family!!!On our way home, Brother Ralph reminded us that a group from First Baptist Dilley was coming on Saturday morning to pick him up to go to Piedras Negras. If we wanted to go, the invitation was open. When we got back to the apartment, we prayed and still weren't really sure what to do. When we woke up on Saturday, we prayed some more. We finally decided that if there was room in the van for us and our packs, we would ride the last 45 miles into Mexico.
Well, the van arrived and there was exactly enough room for us, so we threw our packs in and set off for Mexico. We weren't sure where we would stay the night or what would happen, but we knew that God was in control...so on day 169 we crossed the border without any trouble at all! (thanks for all of your prayers!)
More of the story to come! We'll post again soon! We love y'all!! God bless you!
Pictured below: 1) We went with Charlotte to collect eggs... 2) and to feed the chickens. 3) The horses followed us up to the barn. 4) I finally got to ride a little!! ha, ha, ha!!
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