The all American Roadtrip

My spirit soars and leaps within me as we pass one extraordinary view after the next...
"I can understand why they call this "Big Country"", I say to Amanda as yet another awe inspiring mountain covered in snow passes in the distance.

The snow covers everything blurring the boundaries put in place by man made fences and roads and unites a landscape into one beautiful white woolen blanket.
It doesn't matter what lies beneath, all that's seen is the beauty that was deposited on the ground by heaven itself the
night before reminding me of that awesome scripture where God says to his people, "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."
Last time one of the things that I mentioned was that we were not to let what was wrong with us stop us from worshiping what was right with God. If we could raise up our eyes and see the landscape the way God sees it we would live differently. We would ski over the boundaries that seem to hinder us and snowboard over the mountains that seem so unfriendly knowing that God has washed away the boundaries placed by men (Mt 19:6, "with God all things are possible.") and has set us free to live a life of adventure with Him (Jn 8:36, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.").

Our point of departure was from an awesome family in Colorado Springs,

Andie and Wendy Ingram, who gave us their beautiful basement apartment to stay in for a couple of days.
TIME TO KNIT: I have been wanting to knit for ages, I dont think Leon has ever seen me knit in our 12 years of marriage! I went to the Wal-Mart and bought some needles and funky wool and knit the girls each a scarf. I can only remember Pearl & Plain so the scarves are various versions of that. I think the internet is amazing, I couldn't remember how to cast off my stitches so Leon googled it for me. Making pom-poms to sew onto the scarves took me back to my primary school days. The girls laughed when they saw me knitting and said I looked like a cute little ol' granny!

As we left, Andie lent us his Christmas present - A GPS!! without which we would have had many needless headaches. This gadget was soooo cool!!! It even listed hotels and places of interest as we travelled so that we didn't have to drive around asking prices. All we did was ask it to list the hotels in the town with their phone numbers and once we decided on one we would hit the "Guide me" button and it would take us directly to the front door. Sweet!
They also lent us some skiing equipment which came in handy.

Mands posing in her ski clothes.


















Yip we're going skiing!!! Yay!!
A friend of our's (Seth Jnr.) uncle (Whom we've never met may I add) said that we could spend a weekend at his condo near a ski resort called Winter Park.
Well lets' just say that it's not as easy as those good looking models make it look as they carve up the mountain side with those frozen smiles on their faces ;-) The sad news is that I didn't want to get my camera ruined on the mountain so there's no pictures of Amanda's petrified face as she came careering down the bunny slope or of the kids showing their folks how it's supposed to be done or of me plowing face first into the rather hard turf...
The good news? Here are some pics of afterwards ;-)













After we spent a couple of days in the mountains we headed towards none other than the one, the only, the ever elusive.... (Drum roll here...) Disneyland!!

What was so exciting about this was that it was done entirely in Faith.
Let me explain... we were expecting some money to come in but it hadn't arrived yet and we couldn't wait any longer or else the timing wouldn't have worked out. So off we went.

The trip was part of the experience which made it absolutely exciting.
Amanda said something that I would like to put in here... she said, "Families need fewer holidays and more adventures together"

Selah.

So with Andie's trusty GPS on board and a sense of adventure in our hearts, we decided to brave the back roads of the "New Tame West"... and set a heading for Anaheim California. It ended up taking us three days to get there but it was three days well spent. Our first port of call was Steamboat Springs. (A tourist trap of note with an awesome ski hill in the background). But not without first stopping in the mountains to frolic in the half meter deep ice cold snow.













It was snowing out so we being the tourists we are went for walk ;-) Met up with Abe Lincoln also enjoying the fresh fall of snow.

After that we headed into the desert in Utah...

No American road trip is complete without going through Las Vegas. With it's miriad of chappels and bright lights... This city truly is Sin City and to be honest Mandz and myself couldn't wait to move on.

Next came Los Angeles, Anaheim and the reason for our trip in the first place... Disneyland.

We decided to go scope out the land the night we arrived to make sure we got the most of our stay here. The price of the tickets were shocking! While we were in the queue contemplating how we were going to afford this, a lady walked up to us and asked if were going to Disneyland? We said yes and she then handed us 2 tickets to the value of R1500.00!!
Being the true South African's we are we immediately thought that this was some sort of scam ;-) But it wasn't, it truely was our heavenly Father wanting to just bless us.
Yes we all know that God can bless us but we sometimes struggle with the fact that He WANTS to. It was exactly what we needed. Without that blessing there would have been no Disneyland.
Do we serve an abundantly generous God or what?
So without much further adu, they say a picture speaks a thousand words...

We sapped Disney Dry... 15 hours later...

The next day we went to the Beach... much to Talitha's dismay. "BUT why we're here so short?"

The way back was rushed, but we did manage to pop by that big gash in the ground called the Grand Canyon... It was VERY impressive!!

To see more of the photos that didn't make it onto this blog head on over to Facebook and see there. www.facebook.com Look for Leon Laubscher.
(We also name our pics there as well as coment on what they are etc.)

Going after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention

So stepping out in faith is supposed to be this BIG WOW right?
Then how come Amanda, the girls & I are so homesick right now?
Getting emails & comments on the blog are very welcome at this point in time. (hint hint)

Worry:
Isn't it funny that even when things don't work out the way we planned they ALWAYS work out the way God planned?
I know that that sounds like a cliche but it's really where we're @ right now.

So far the Blog's basically covered what we've been doing and not really how we've been feeling.
We realize that most of you reading this blog have been on this journey with us before we even considered going to Colorado, and that just telling you what we're doing and not sharing with you what we are feeling too could rob you of the joy of coming along side us on this faith journey.

Our travels have not all been smooth sailing. Yes, it could be A LOT worse, but that is no comfort when dreams, fears and emotions are concerned.
Some of the fears that we have had to work through are "What if we don't get the students we need to make this work?". "What if life falls apart at home while we're away and we have a lot of legalities to deal with when we get back?" "What if we dont have the finances to finish this trip?"... " What if we fail?" alot of "what ifs" ... Yes, we've been worried, (that's a confession not a brag) and Jesus has gently reminded us of who He is... That's enough to stop anybody in their tracks look up to the hills and say "my help comes from the Lord". (Psalm 121:1-3)

Did you know that the word "worry" in the Greek is "merimneo" which means to "divide the mind". In James we're told: "a double minded man gets.... Nothing" - Worrying is being double minded. We say we trust Jesus... yet we worry?
Worry is the opposite of faith in that it elevates our human strength and ingenuity above God's strength and His purpose. We're double minded when we worry or fear.

Worry causes health issues, makes us fat and has many other negative effects on our body and it NEVER helps in achieving or averting ANYTHING in our lives.

Ps 118:24-26 says the following:
"24 This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25 O LORD, save us;
O LORD, grant us success.

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you."

Some thoughts:
1) This day is ALL God has given us - not tomorrow or next week. God made it so let's choose to rejoice while we're in it and maximize it to His glory.
2) What we have today is what God's led us into - if we messed up yesterday He will save us from past mistakes, hurts and disappointments. Not only will he save you, He will not leave you there, He will PROSPER you - grant you success.
3) We come in the name of the Lord. We are His ambassadors we are his children, therefore we are Blessed. And being blessed in God's house, we will be a blessing to both God and man.

And when all hell breaks loose against us we can stand and say with Paul that we are "pursuaded" that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

WHY?

Because "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (see Rom 8:31-39)

What prevents us from following God-sized dreams?
Are we worried that we will fail, that God will not come through?

At church last Sunday this quote was given to us and we'd like to share it with you...

"Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God.
Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking some risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. And remember, If God is for us, who can be against us?"

USA: Photo update

Thought I'd upload a couple of our pics from the last couple of days that never made it into the Blogs: (they're in totally random order)


Mands @ thermopolis hot springs.










Kids above the minerals deposited by the hot springs...








the Rocky Mountains viewed from "Western frontiers" a ministry of YWAM







on our way to Wyoming we came across this mountain view... one of many impressive landscapes.









A crow evangelist from the Reservations...

















The group that helped build the orphinage
















Leon playing Rythm section in the crow worship team.








so how do you keep a whole wack load of kids busy during a Thanksgiving dinner speach time??

















Pretty Eagle Point... named after the indian chief burried there. Chief Pretty Eagle.














Two pretty girls @ Pretty Eagle Point

USA: How much wood would a wood chuck chuck?

It all depends on how much time he has! ;-)

It's unbelievable how much has happened in these last couple of days....

We headed off to Col. Springs and had an awesome time of ministry there @ Gary Blacks home cell. The Lord led me to preach on "growing up" and then the Lord moved in a most prophetic way. It was an awesome blessing. A couple of the peeps prophesied over Mandz and I... very cool stuff BUT nothing regarding location. :-)

While we were there we got to see a place called "Valley of the gods". Amazing landscape with these huge outcrops of Red and White rocks. The next day we got to see "big" snow as we ascended a mountain peak nearby that's over 14000 feet above sea level. (That's a couple of thousand meters... most of you have phones that can convert that ;-))

We came back to Denver only to rush off to Montana where we spent the entire weekend ministering to the Native American Crows.

When we arrived a couple of the local Pastors invited us to join them in a "Sweat" (That's sweat as in perspire!!!) What they do is place you in a tiny weeny little dome made originally from animal hide but now made with army canvas ;-) They place 8 of you in it along with a whole pile of glowing red hot rocks... that in itself is way way hot but they make it worse they then proceed to close the door so you're in pitch black darkness then they pour water on those there rocks and bath you in steam... I was able to last all of 15 mins... they lasted nearly an hour. While in there you're breathing pure team. your nasal cavity is burning your skin is burning and EVERYTHING is sweating profusely!! Did I mention that you had to get in there with ABSOLUTELY NOTHING on?? Oh yeah!! they corrupted me... I was in a tent with eight naked Christians talking about life the universe and everything... quite intense. (In the unsaved arena they use a drug called Peyote which induces "visions" - It's an hallucinogenic. I'm kinda glad they were Christians.)

Our Purpose for being there was to help build an orphanage for the crow children who are left to their own devices...

We as a family had a very significant first Thanksgiving in that:

1stly they asked me to share with them about Culture and the Gospel... man god showed me some really cool stuff - Look here for the notes.

2dly we practiced it the same way the original pilgrims did... with the Natives (they object to being called Indians). It was very special.

On our way back we were told to head on down to "Yellowstone National Park" the one where "Old Faithful" is. We ended up staying in Wyoming State in a town called Matseersee. Population 300 'n somein'... What a God moment!!!

We stayed at the YWAM base called Western Frontiers - previously Cowboys with a Mission (CWAM) and we met two amazing peeps in the form or Mister Dave and Miss Molly with their 2 kids Brooklyn and Joshua.

It turned out that Yellowstone was snowed under & we couldn't get in so we went to Thermopolis and soaked in the World's Largest Hot springs. We were aalso able to see the Bison feeding grounds. What awesome animals... it's a good thing their horns aren't bigger. Their heads would fall off with all that weight.

The next day Dave took us on an out ride on REAL cowboy horses with authentic cowboy saddles... what an amazing experience!

We tore ourselves away from them not wanting to ever leave there and headed back to Denver where we spent the actual thanksgiving day at an inner city outreach that fed the homeless and gave them a concert. Mandz and I were asked to sing an African song with the band... so Jabulani came to the fore... Yip. It sounded pretty cool accompanied by a croup of truly pro Muso's...

God is moving in this country in a strange way... I still haven't been able to put my finger on it??

Getting people to sign up for Hope in Africa is proving to be a little more challenging than we anticipated. But if this is a God thing then God will build the house because as y'all know, "Unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers labour in vain".

USA: COLORADO

We have finally arrived in Colorado. I had mixed feelings about arriving in Colorado, as this is the moment of figuring out what God placed in our hearts years ago regarding this State and our connection with it. My fears were "what if we arrive and nothing great happens?" or "what if God wants us to leave SA, our precious family and friends (and animals) to plant/lead/work along side a church here?" REAL FEARS!

Ronnie Morris met us at the airport and we spent a few days with him and Marcella. Ronnie & Marcella Morris are the Directors of KingsKids (YWAM for younger kids) Denver and they are keen to bring the kids out to us on outreach in White River. They warmly welcomed us into their home and provided us with a car to use as long as we need to - what a tremendous blessing. Ronnie is an ex-Rancher and treated us to a steak BBQ, he bought all the different steak cuts for us to try and gave us a quick lesson in a "steak-out".

We joined Ronnie at a christian school in Aurora where they had the YWAM Western Frontiers (Cowboys) talking to the kids about YWAM. They did dramas and music and came to practically work on the school building to finish off some maintenance issues that the school needed help with. The school has asked Lee and I to speak to their high school about Hope In Africa on the 10/12/08.

We met up with Jude and Cindy DelHierro and stayed a few days with them. We got to see our first real snow at their home. Beautiful to wake up in the morning and see the snow falling - the girls rushed outside in their new "snow clothes" (these were generously donated to us by friends in Atlanta) to play in it. Jude & Cindy are the couple that Iain & Sue with Ethnie & Malcolm arranged for us to meet in White River briefly and who invited us to Colorado to see what their ministry (Confluence Ministries) is all about. (p.s. Jude is a song writer and has written many songs that we sing in worship e.g. More Love More Power). We joined them on an outreach at a school in the area to provide all the little Hispanic kids from this school, who are from very poor areas, with a new pair of shoes each. We sized and shoed hundreds of little kids with new shoes that were organized by a ministry called Little Feet. What a joy to see those little faces light up when they each received a pair of really cool new shoes.

Jude has asked Lee & I to help him with worship this Sunday am at Bethany Evangelical Free Church in Littleton, we are looking forward to a great time of worship and to be playing/singing with some awesome musicians!

We met with some of the NCMI guys who have planted churches in Denver and they have extended hands of friendship. We have been invited to spend Christmas with Scott & Rene Ainslie (South Africans who have planted in Denver) who have also offered us a place to stay when we need it and we are house sitting in December for Marlin & Charlotte Bender who run a relating NCMI church in Denver (we met this couple in Atlanta at the conference).

Jude & Cindy blessed us with tickets to a basketball game on Sunday night i.e. Denver Nuggets vz. Minnesota Timberwolves. Well, when in Rome do as the Romans!!

We took the girls to the Children's Museum in Denver which is a kids paradise. It is a tactile environment with loads of fun things to interact with, the girls had a ball. Presently, we are housesitting for Dave Dennis in Lakewood. Dave has a house on a little lake with loads of space for the kids to play. We have been away from home now for about 1 month and are missing all of you lots and lots. The US is very different, Amanda personally enjoyed the UK more AND we are curious to see what our connection with Colorado will be.