Frustrating Waiting

The second mechanic failed. He arrived and worked for a while only to inform me that I not only needed a new tire, I needed a new rim as well. He had none and would have to drive 60 miles round trip to find one. At this point I didn't care how far he had to drive, I needed to be off the highway. He disappeared into the night with a promise to return in an hour and I never saw him again.

I broke down at 8:30 pm. It's now 4:00 am.

Can you hear the semi-trucks whizzing by the Explorer?

A Solution . . . Perhaps

The Second mechanic finally showed. He pulled the blown tire off, took it back to his truck, and began fixing it. Perhaps this was the solution.

Perhaps.

I broke down at 8:30. It was now close to 1:30.

Still Waiting . . .

After a long, and unfortunately uneventful wait of an hour and a half no mechanic from Uhaul showed. In fact, after I made a few phone calls I discovered that the mechanic had discovered that he didn't have the correct replacement tire, and rather than share that fact with Uhaul and I the mechanic went home and crawled into his nice warm bed. All that while I sat and waited alongside I-70.

At this point Uhaul contacted a second mechanic. This man promised to come save my trailer.

I broke down at 8:30. The time was now almost 11:30.

Stuck Along the Road

Only an hour after getting back on the road from the first near-accident my passenger side tire blew on the Uhaul trailer.  I had only made it into the eastern edge of Indiana.  Sure, this was getting depressing, but Uhaul promised that in only a matter of half an hour someone would be on their way to get me up and going again. 

The time was 8:30 pm.  

Me and Mac

I've owned a Mac for the last three years. I've loved every minute of it. I've had less trouble with my Mac in the last three years than I had with either of my other computers in the four years before that.

That said, my Mac blew its hard drive last week. Which, I hope, explains why I haven't finished posting the videos from my trip. I have the videos, I just need to make some quick edits and get them posted when I can.

California's great . . .

My niece is beautiful . . .

My sister and Dave are doing great . . .

I love the new apartment . . .

I'll try to get the videos and pictures posted as soon as I can.


Ps. I took some pictures on the way here. These are posted above.

Blowing the Tire

Stuck in Sinner City

Broke Down in Ohio

California Trip - Video Blog: The Rest Area

Christ in Camping

For the ninth time in the last eleven years I woke early on a Wednesday morning, showered, dressed, and walked out the door to head to Slippery Rock Baptist Camp's Staff Training.

Some of my fondest life memories come from Slippery Rock. It was here I counseled teenage kids for the first time. Here I preached my first weeklong series of messages. Here I led boys and girls in a prayer for salvation. Here I made friendships that will continue through eternity.

I can't think of a better place to spend a month of summer. You enjoy five weeks of fellowship with other Christian young people. You play several huge group games a day. You canoe, tube, and float down the creek. You climb towers and fly down ziplines. Spend hours at paintball, capture the flag, frisbee football, and endless water games. And mingled through all this fun you share Christ with those around you! You tell the fellow friends, counselors, cooks, maintenance guys, and campers all about how the Lord is working in your life. You glorify God in such clear, tangible ways!

As I read my devotions this morning my heart paused on several wonderful verses:

Psalm 16:2 I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."

6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence is fulness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.