As we start this year, I want to take a moment and let you inside what we experienced last year. We have been on the devastation—I mean deputation—trail since May. We have gone from the far Northeast to the far West Coast and to all four corners of our country. We’ve made over 5,000 phone calls, driven 35,000 miles, and visited 66 churches. We’ve eaten more than 700 meals on the road, many out of mugs and paper cups. We’ve had many stomach bugs and had endless wardrobe changes as the temperatures change, sometimes from one city to the next. We’ve done school from our car seats, visited numerous playgrounds and libraries, and met and left friends all across the country. We’ve had to pass up flea market after flea market. We have heard the “Where are you from?” question over and over again. “See that van over there . . .” Yeah, that answer doesn’t cover it.
We’ve been blessed with very adaptable children. They sometimes call their space in the car their room and decorate their windows; and they call each chamber, tent site, or hotel room “home.” Consequently, they have a great appreciation for church nurseries and library toys. We are sometimes asked, “Do you like this life?” or “How do you do it?” Like anyone, if we focused on what we “don’t have” or what we are “missing out on,” we would likely find ourselves discontented and downhearted often. So we don’t focus on not being able to gather around a dinner table together and eat off real dinnerware at an actual table with enough chairs for everyone. We look at each new bed as a blessing and not a hassle. Every time we repack the van (once or twice a week), it’s like spring cleaning or tornado relief; nevertheless, it’s a time to refresh.
We are excited to have started the new year with five new supporting churches! We are so humbled that God would use us in His work and that His people would in turn believe in our vision and team up with us. Please pray for us as we bring our son Judson into the world in early May. We are blessed to be based out of West Virginia for the next two months for this transitional time. We will be traveling in West Virginia and to Maine, Virginia, Florida, and New York during these two months.
Fellow servants for Christ,
The McDonalds