IdAhO

Anchorage

We are now getting settled in!

Devin is studying for his electrical license test, so that he can start working as an electrician, while pursuing school on the side. I am waiting on some interviews for the school district, and since school doesn't start till August 23rd, I'm thinking about applying at Starbucks. We'll see!

We are so happy to be here! The past few days have been about 59 degrees. An Arizona winter!!! It has also been drizzling. Its supposed to be clear skies this upcoming week. We are totally enjoying it though! We have to wear long sleeves, pants, and close-toe shoes-- very odd for us at this time of year!

We miss our friends Matthew and Sarah, who we are living with. They are both currently in Guam. Sarah comes home next week, and Matthew comes home September 15th. We can't wait to see them! They are such great friends! Sarah prepared a wonderful guest room for us with a really comfortable bed! We are so thankful for them!

We saw so much wildlife on our trip!

MoOsE

2 BlAcK bEaRs (On 2 DiFfErEnT oCcAsIoNs!)
BiG HoRnEd ShEeP

PoRcUpInEs

SqUiRrElS

WiLd hOrSeS

WoLvErInE
Sadly, I din't get pictures of any of these animals, because we were driving past them when we saw them, and the closer we approached them, the faster they would run off!

We did manage to get a picture of the horses, because they didn't care that they were standing in the middle of the road and we were driving toward them! They stood there and stared at us!

Anchorage, Alaska ---- Our New Home!

We Made It!

We are so glad to be here in Anchorage safely! We had an unforgettable trip! It was 11 looong days of driving, but the scenery was absolutly spectacular! We saw so much.... we couldn't help but take pictures of everything!

Our trip started in Flagstaff-->Utah-->Idaho-->Oregon-->
Washington-->British Columbia-->Yukon-->Alaska!

God taught us so much about His love for us throughout this trip. Our love for Him, naturally, was renewed. Being in his creation made us realize how BIG He is. We were taken back so many times by how majestic and faithful He is.

We LeArNeD mAnY lEsSoNs:

First, I would say we learned how to trust Him first and foremost. With safety, and finances. He provided everything we needed. We believe with all of our heart that God held us in the palm of his hand the whole way up here.

Second, we also learned what God wants from us while we are here in Alaska. First off, to be a light for Him, but also to be ever so dependent on Him.

We are starting over! Financially that is. We sold everything to get here, and we are starting from the ground up, just like we did when were first married. This time, we are going to do things a Little different. We are going to work hard for what we want, and we are going to save! haha! What a new concept. We want to get rid of all of our debt, and live as good stewards of our money, actually God's money.

We also want to live everyday knowing that God is in control of everything that happens in our lives. We thought we understood this before. But relying on Him for everything this trip, made us realize that we don't do this in our everyday lives when everything is going well, money is coming in, and we are comfortable. We asked that God would always show us that we can do nothing for ourselves, but it is He who works through us!

First Stop: Rest Stop!

Flagstaff --> Utah --> Idaho

Our journey is going really well so far! We are having the time of our lives!

On Sunday morning (at 5 am) we took off to our first destination. Flagstaff , Arizona. Devin’s boss and his wife have a cabin there, so we decided to stop and see them, and stay the night. Well, we actually ended up staying for two nights, because Devin wanted to make some last minute adjustments on the trailer, before we took off to Utah.

On our way to Zion Canyon, Utah, we encountered some issues with our trailer. I guess the shackles Devin welded on were a little too far forward, and so the trailer didn’t have a suspension. SO, we (as in Devin) used our redneck abilities to fashion some temporary bump stops with good ol’ fashioned duct tape and a saguaro cactus rib (which before we left, I begged him to throw away. He found it out in the desert and used it as a walking stick!) But, obviously at a moment like that, I was thankful that God had Devin put that cactus rib in our jeep amongst all of our other belongings. Oh we were laughing! Believe it or not, they worked! We couldn’t believe it!

That night, we planned on staying in a campground in Zion National Park, but as we were driving through, they were all full. We didn’t bother to make reservations because it was a Tuesday. Bad move! So, we decided to just keep driving. We were so tired, we decided to just stay at a rest stop. Boy did we feel like truckers… We went to bed, and all night you could hear the big rigs pulling in and out of the rest stop! I woke up about 7 times throughout the night. Devin, on the other hand, slept like a baby. I’m not usually a light sleeper, but I was that night. Then, around 6 in the morning, I woke Devin up to tell him it was raining, and the vent was open. He laughed, its just the sprinklers! At that point we felt like we were homeless! “Oh the darn sprinklers woke me up again this morning…”

Anyway, it must be said that Utah is a gorgeous state! The houses there are all so amazing, sooo many trees, and beautiful canyons and mountains! The weather was also lovely!

Well, I bet you’re wondering how long our redneck bump stops worked….. for approximately 300 miles! By the time we reached a small town just south of Salt Lake City, Devin’s contraption gave out. At this point, we were a little frustrated and beginning to worry. The only solution to this problem was to find a welding shop that would cut the shackles off and re-weld them in the correct position, or to rent a welder from Home Depot and do it ourselves. WELL…. We drove around looking for a welding shop, or a machine shop, but couldn’t find anything. We also tried Camping World, but they had RV repairs backed up until next week, plus they don’t even weld. Devin had an idea to possibly buy a welder from Home Depot and use it, and then return it when were done so that we wouldn’t have to spend any money on it. We both knew that wasn’t the right thing to do. At this point, Devin and I just started praying. We knew that we needed to rely on God to provide what we needed. We asked God to bring someone that could help us. We pull into the Home Depot parking lot, to look into renting some equipment. The only way we would be able to use this equipment was if we went to an RV park that had full hook ups. As we were getting out of the car, a man in a big ford truck pulls up behind us and asks Devin if he could ask him some questions about our teardrop trailer. He was very friendly, so of course he said sure! He asked about how it pulled, and Devin said, “Well, at the moment, not so well.” He explained what was wrong, and told him that we needed a welder. Not a moment later, Rex, the man who was asking us questions, shoots up and says "I have a neighbor that has a welder! Let me call him for you." His neighbor was willing to let us use his equipment. We followed Rex to his house in Riverton, a nearby town, to meet his neighbor and look at repairing our trailer. As we were following him, Devin and I just looked at each other in awe. God had answered our prayer within moments, and it was so obvious that He was the one that brought this man to us. I was in tears. God taught us a great lesson that day. God wants us to trust him, whole-heartedly, and so many times we try to do it on our own or we get too impatient in waiting on Him. We saw God for who He was that day. Our goal of this trip was to not only grow closer as a couple, but closer to our Great God. We are so excited for what He is teaching us, and for what is to come. We have absolutely no worries about anything now, because we know that Christ is our ultimate provider. While Devin was welding up the trailer, Rex, his neighbor, and his neighbors parents were all over checking out the trailer. They all reminisced about their old tear drop they had, and all the trips they took in it. When Devin was done working on the trailer, he stood up, and said, “I don’t know what you guys believe, but I am a firm believer in Jesus Christ. I believe he came to die on the cross for my sins and that I am forgiven. Just 5 minutes before you pulled up behind us Rex, we were praying God would bring someone to help us. And He answered our prayers. We are so thankful for all of you.” Rex went back over to his truck to get something. When he came back, he said, “all I ask is that you e-mail me when you get there”, and he handed us his card. We can’t wait to email him and let him know that God brought us to Alaska safely. He led us back to the freeway, and jumped out to say bye, he patted Devin’s back and said, “there is a God”.

We are so thankful for everything that has happened so far….

what an adventure we’re having!!!!!