Roadtrip?

As of today, it has been written in stone: I will be leaving Tulsa for Mexico a week from today! After all the waiting, everything has come in that I need for the vehicle, I have a travel companion for the 36 hour roadtrip (thank you so much Sr. Schilb), and gosh dangit I'm ready to use my new roadmap!


So this means that I will be crossing the border somewhere around dawn on next Sunday morning and arriving at Roca Blanca late Monday night if everything works out. I really cannot wait to just get down there and get settled. Here are some ways in which you can be praying:

Safety for Matt and I. I am not anticipating that there will be any problems driving across the country of Mexico. That said, two gringos attract attention and sometimes that attention can be unwanted (especially if it's the attention of crazy Mexican policia). In addition, banditos can be bad news. Plus I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I got Jill's new hubby into trouble.

(Actual Banditos probably look scarier than this)

I pack/remember everything I need. There are several things I am bringing down to the base for people living there and it's pretty important that I not forget anything. The mail system in Mexico leaves a bit to be desired in terms of reliability so mailing/shipping stuff really isn't an option.

That's about it for now. The adventure is finally on! Thanks for all of your support to this point. I can't wait to show pics from what will undoubtedly prove to be a great roadtrip.

Politics

During this time of the 4-year cycle, the US turns its attention to all things political: the divisive, the innocuous, the boring, and the interesting to see if we can come up with a perceived "fix all" for the upcoming 48 months. I will admit that I grow weary of this for reasons I don't completely understand. Probably, it is as simple as knowing that no one will ever really be happy with the way the country is being run and so I don't understand all of the fuss. Then I'm caught by my own desire for change in the areas that I deem important. Blah. It will be different to be able to watch the whole circus unfold from Mexico this year. I wonder what it will be like to be able to hide from the slew of ads. I also ask myself, how much time in advance do I really need to start thinking about who I want to vote for? Days, weeks, months? I'm not sure. I will most likely wait to decide anything until we're down to two candidates (sorry independents, you realistically don't have a chance of winning).

Now that I've covered that controversial topic, I will transition to Oaxaca plans. I did get the title back from AR for the 4Runner late last week and applied to get a clean one in my name through OK. They told me it takes a week and a half or so. This means that I will most likely be leaving early to mid week next week. So exciting! Please be in prayer that God will be preparing the way for my journey to be safe as it is an excruciating 36 hour drive. More updates to come regarding that.

Quick Update

I truthfully don't have a lot new to share with you at the moment. I am still waiting on the title to come back from the AR Dept. of Finance so moving to Mexico is on hold until that happens. Other than the waiting, I have gotten to do a lot of hanging out with the fam and friends. Christmas, New Year's, and bowl games have brought me together with old friends and it has been great. Last night, I sat in a hot tub until 4 in the morning talking to a guy who I've known for 10 years now about anything and everything regarding our spiritual journeys. Sweet time. I would say that I am living my best life now (Gu).

I will keep everyone updated as the timing of my trip to Mexico becomes clearer. The only other important thing I can add to this post is that Feist's new CD is amazing. You should get it, or bear the consequences of not experiencing some great music. That's all.

It's 80 Degrees Outside

At Roca Blanca that is, it's 80 degrees outside.....84 to be exact. But instead of wishing I was there, I will live in the present and this Holiday season. So to commemorate this Christmas season, I wanted to bless everyone with the picture that we used this year for the Sullivan family Christmas card. It's wonderful. But please, try to not be too jealous.

Too Much Ice, a New Ride, and More US of A

I apologize at the outset for my lack of updating recently. Last week was kind of a lost week with the ice storm that hit Tulsa because I couldn't find an internet connection aside from pirating one from my car in random parking lots. So here I am (still in the US) because of the amazing blessing of a car for the ministry in Mexico. But before I continue, here are some pics from the famed Ice Storm:

Now the story on my new vehicle. I was given an older 4Runner by a very wonderful guy from Fayetteville and it has been an amazing blessing! Here's how it happened. I saw this vehicle sitting on the side of the road in Fayetteville about a month ago and decided to call the number advertised on the window. My plan was to explain who I was, what I was going to be doing, and that I wanted to know if they would just give the car to me. I spoke with a nice lady at first who told me that she thought I was doing a really neat thing, but that she and her boyfriend were a young couple and not in the position to be able to give away the car. That really was the reaction I most expected, and so I simply thanked her for her time and thought to myself, "That was a bit of a crazy idea anyway Stuart." So fast forward 2 weeks after that to my blog post where I was talking about reconsidering whether or not God had it in the cards for me to have a vehicle to bring down to Mexico. Literally 3 hours after I posted that particular blog entry, I received a phone call from a guy telling me that he was the man who owned the 4Runner I had called about only a couple of weeks earlier. He told me that after initially thinking I was crazy, his heart had changed and the audacity of the request had left him feeling compelled to do just what I had requested: give the car to me. How amazing is that?!

So after some talking with people who know a lot about bringing vehicles to Mexico I found out that I need to have a clean title before I cross the border. Herein lies the small price to pay for getting the car: I have to wait another 4-6 weeks for the title work to come back. So because of this mind-blowing blessing, I will be stateside through Christmas and into the new year. I am still forming my plan for the interim, but I hope to find some temp work and offset as many moving costs as I can.

In closing, I want to ask that you continue to pray for my patience. I was already emotionally/mentally disconnected from the US and now I am here for a bit longer. I know I will be fine, but I would appreciate your continued prayer as this journey is already quite different from what I had planned.

I will leave you with a pic of the wonderful car.

Sitting, Waiting

So I'm in my parent's house in Tulsa and freezing rain has been covering the area for almost a day now. Actually, the blanket of ice is supposed to do nothing but thicken for the next 10 hours or so. I hope everything remains in working order but when it's 28 degrees and the rain is coming down it's unlikely. WOW! The electricity just surged through the house and a transformer nearby exploded, but the power came back on. Anyway, enough about the weather.

Despite the dreary conditions outside I am relatively sublime heading into what I hope becomes my last week in the states for a while. If you noticed, the countdown timer that has been so prominently displayed on the upper right corner of my blog has disappeared. 2 reasons for that: [1] I messed up the code fiddling with it and [2] I'm not sure exactly when I'm leaving now. I have had Monday the 17th as my leave date for some time now, but I may have to adjust that slightly. I will explain. I may have found a vehicle!! I won't give the whole story right now because I don't have it in my possession yet, but God seems to have moved someone's heart to give me a vehicle to take to Mexico. If it happens in the way I anticipate, I could possibly need to spend up to 2 weeks getting all of the title transfer, tagging, and other things done before leaving. God is really blessing me with this and I am pretty humbled at how He worked this situation out. Details will come forth as this unfolds further.

Well I am going to bid this post adieu before a power surge claims my computer. To those of you in the area, drink a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy the winter weather. If you're not in the area, enjoy your week anyway! Thank you for praying.

In Tulsa

Well, I'm in Tulsa after a week of tearful goodbyes, quick packing, and pure craziness. The next 2 weeks will be really great as I will have to opportunity to be still and prepare myself for the big move to Mexico. Quickly, I have an edit to a previous prayer request:

I need that God grants me wisdom and discernment. Obviously this statement can cover so many things, but what I'm referring to specifically right now is the whole truck question. I have felt for some time that I truly need a truck to take me to Mexico (see previous post for reasons). It isn't happening at all to this point and so I'm beginning to ask God if in His wisdom He has a plan for me that doesn't involve a truck. It's not a lack of faith in His provision, rather responding to how He's leading me.

Oh, and just for all of you that can appreciate some good people watching, there is currently a gentleman in front of me that is waiting for the bathroom to open up in this coffee shop where I'm sitting and He is so put off that someone else could have the audacity to be occupying the bathroom. I think he thinks the bathroom is his. I may cut in front of him....