So, What's Next?

This is the question we have been asked constantly since Curt followed God's calling to hike the Appalachian Trail. For awhile we were asked it almost daily. Then it tapered off to a few times a week. And now... Now the only people that have been asking the question is us. To God. Almost hourly some days. 

After the last two years, hiking the trail has been one of the easiest tests of faith we've gone through. Well, for me anyway. Curt would never use the word "easy" when talking about the trail, but I digress.

I have to admit that I truly expected to know what was next while Curt was still on trail. When God remained silent, I thought for sure that we would know our next calling in the first couple of weeks after he finished. And there was nothing but silence. As the anniversary of our saying yes to God's call rolled around, we were no closer to knowing what to do than the year before. 

During prayer and reading scripture we both had moments of knowing that we were to be patient. Well, it's one thing to be patient, but while being patient we figured we needed to be doing something. Like, ANYTHING, other than sitting in the basement watching TV.

We heard an excellent sermon and after receiving advice from several friends, we concluded that until we heard differently from God, our calling to minister to the hiking community had not changed. We would continue to be a presence there until God told us differently and that's what we did. 

And OH the people we met. The purpose of this blog isn't to tell the stories of the people we met, but meet people we did. Hundreds. We were given the opportunity to become friends and minister to hundreds of people within the hiking community. I will be forever grateful to God for the opportunity to meet so many believers and non believers alike. Some of my very best friends were made during this time period. I've come to love more than I ever thought possible, shuttle drivers, hikers, YouTube viewers, and hostel owners. Before the trail, my Facebook friends' list was made up of roughly 90% "church" people. Not today. Today it overflows with such a wide variety of people I can't even figure out percentages. 

Even with this purpose, the last two years felt unsettled; temporary. We were constantly praying for permanence. Every time we thought we might settle down, God made it abundantly clear that we were not to do so. There were several times I would begin looking for a job and doors would be slammed shut. We would begin looking for houses in an area or even look into opening a hostel along the trail, but nothing ever panned out. So, we just continued doing what God had called us to do. We made plans to be permanently temporary. 😄

The heat of summer isn't the most pleasant time to be on the trail. Isabel was having some breathing trouble (she has since been diagnosed with exercise induced asthma) and Curt was getting lightheaded and dizzy when he stood from a squatting position. We knew we needed to get these things taken care of, so we came home at the beginning of June with the intention of going back to the trail as soon as they were medically cleared. It took SO long to get all the testing scheduled, completed, and results read that the next thing we knew, it was August. I had a good friend that was attempting a thru hike of the trail and we had decided to go to the trail to help her through New Hampshire and Maine, but we wanted to get Emily moved into her apartment at school and take the littles on an educational trip first. (Gabe was in a musical this past fall and unable to go to Minnesota with us)

We left our AT plans loose and took off for Minnesota. We would visit the Grand Portage Monument and the Rendezvous Reenactment and finish off with a trip into the Boundary Waters. I won't go into details about either of these trips, but if you're interested I posted videos on my YouTube channel about both.

Now, if you've made it this far in the quick recap of the last couple years of our lives, this is where you want to start paying attention. This is when God really lays out, without much room for questioning, HIS next step for us. And I am still in awe. 

We were outfitting a canoe for the Boundary Waters with Piragis. It's an outdoor company in Ely, MN. We wanted to take only one canoe into the Boundary Waters and our canoes were not quite big enough. We were supposed to leave our camper in the parking lot at Piragis, but when we got there, the lot was completely jam packed full. There wasn't even room for a motorcycle. We were going into the Boundary Waters on a Tuesday and would be out by Friday so Curt did what comes natural to a preacher, he started calling churches to see if any of them had a spot we could park our camper. I pulled up Google Maps, typed in "churches" and began scanning the list. 

The first baptist church that came up was outside of town in the opposite direction we were heading. I quickly bypassed that one and kept scrolling. There were several churches in town, but for whatever reason, I kept scrolling and came to Ledgerock Community Church. In small print underneath were the words, "Baptist Church". It was located in town, so Curt decided to give that one a call. 

We reached the voicemail of the church where we received the phone number for the church coordinator. Curt got hold of the coordinator, explained our situation, and was greeted with, "As you can imagine, we get a lot of requests like this and we generally do not allow people to leave vehicles at the church." Of course, we understood, but Curt was enjoying talking, shocking I know, so he stayed on the phone talking with Chris, the church coordinator, for several more minutes. After a little bit Chris had a change of heart. He asked us to meet him at the church later that afternoon and he would show us where to park. 

The appointed time arrived and we met up with Chris. Showing us where to park took about 20 seconds, but we ended up talking with him for over 20 minutes. We shared with Chris what we had been doing the last couple years and Chris shared the story of how his church had been undergoing a restructuring process during that same time frame, and how they were getting ready to call their next pastor. They had a gentleman in South Carolina that was coming to town and they were excited to begin the next phase in the life of their church. We shared with Chris some ways to help the pastor feel welcome and wanted in the community, shook hands, and agreed to try and get the camper parked as early as we could the next day so we wouldn't interfere with the Bible study groups that meet. There could be cars blocking us from getting to where we needed to park the camper if we arrived too close to their meeting time.

From that perspective, meeting Chris was no different than any other person we had met in the last two years. We've left our car, camper, and even tented in the yards, parking lots, etc of many people and churches while we have ministered and hiked the trail on both coasts. 

But something was different this time. Curt and I both knew it. We didn't know quite what, but something was very different. 

I've had the Zillow app on my phone since 2017. We've searched for homes in numerous places. I would get email updates from Zillow on homes and land listed in Virden, Putnam, Henry, and Washington, IL. In Georgia we searched for homes in Hiawassee. North Carolina we had searched extensively around Franklin. Erwin, Mountain City, Gatlinburg, Roan Mountain, Elizabethton, and Hampton, Tennessee often popped up in our searches. We even drove to and looked at homes in Damascus, Sugar Grove, and Marion, Virginia. Most recently though, we had done some searches in Ely, Minnesota. Just for fun. We both knew we couldn't handle the long, cold winters, but maybe for a year or two it would be neat to live there during the summer. Maybe Curt could guide canoe trips in the area or maybe we could work at one of the resorts and then come back to Illinois during the winter. When I say we were searching for what God wanted us to do next, I mean we were SEARCHING. As you can tell by the list of places we looked for homes, nothing was off the table. 

I'm going to be completely transparent here. Ely was at the bottom of my list. 

I. Hate. Being. Cold. 

I mean...the summers in Ely barely hit the spring time temperature in Illinois. I am TOTALLY ok with God moving us south. Like, way south. My heart longs to be near the AT and surrounded by the culture of the trail. I love it. I was also ok with staying right here in Central Illinois. I mean, this is where family is and we could still figure out a way to go hiking as often as possible and depending on which town we ended up in, we know lots and lots of churches we could attend and be an active part of. 

So, as we drove away that Monday afternoon from Chris and Ledgerock Church, we both knew something had changed. Something was different, but neither of us wanted to talk about it. I don't know exactly what Curt prayed, but I know my prayers went something like this:

"God, I know you are up to something here. If we are supposed to move to Ely and become part of this church, if we are supposed to come here and be friends with this man coming to pastor the church, to be support for him, to be part of this community, then you're going to have to make it abundantly clear. Because, God, you know I hate cold and snow. So, maybe... maybe if you're moving us here, could we still go south in the winter?"

It was with apprehension that we pulled into the parking lot the next day. Our goal was to get there by 8 or 9 at the latest. Unfortunately, I pulled in 20 minutes before the Bible studies were to begin. Thankfully I was able to get the camper backed into the spot Chris had told us to park, but not without fanfare. As I was backing into the place, up walked a man. Introductions were made, hands were shook, and I politely waved as I continued the work needed done to separate the camper from the truck. The next thing I know, Curt is walking into the church with the interim pastor.

Curt LOVES to see churches when we travel. He loves meeting the people, getting a feel for where they are spiritually, what their ministry is to the community and so on. I'm much more comfortable waiting in the truck or outside in the grass while Curt goes on these little tours. I was thankful for the work that needed done on the camper, because I didn't have to come up with an excuse to not go into the church. I was already struggling with whatever it was God was beginning to move in me and I preferred to stay outside, hiding. 

Pretty soon Caleb and Isabel abandoned me and ran after Curt and the pastor, Angus, so it was just me, the sunshine, the camper, and the truck.  I finished my chores and sat down to wait for Curt to come back out. 

Five minutes passed. Then ten. 

I'm beginning to get a little antsy now. We're supposed to be paddling by this point and instead we are sight seeing a church. More and more people are walking into the Bible study and I'm feeling extremely self conscious. I finally give up and go in to find my family so we can get into the Wilderness. 

I went up the steps and in the door I saw Curt and Angus had used 20 minutes previously, and followed the voices down the hall. I could hear Curt's laughter and him explaining something about the AT so I relaxed and walked into the room he was in. 

It's a sight I will never forget. 

There were 15 or so men on the outside edge of the room. In the center, Curt was grinning from ear to ear as he answered questions. It was like they were all long lost friends, catching up on life. Except, I didn't know ANY of their names. 

I was motioned over to the side of the room by one of the gentlemen. I gave Curt my best, "We are late and we need to get going" look (Which is funny because he couldn't see my face at all, but I felt better giving him the look. Pretty sure he knows me well enough that he didn't need to see my face to know what I was thinking anyway) and started answering the questions I was being asked. 

"How many kids do you have?" "Four. These are our two youngest."
"Where are your older kids?" "Our 16 year old is at home and our 21 year old is at school in Jackson, TN."
"Which school in Jackson does your daughter attend?" "Union University."
"I have a grandson that went to Union. What's her major?" "She majors in Psychology, but is in the pre-med track. She's currently trying to figure out where to go after her undergraduate work is done. She wants to be back near home. Tennessee is a long way from Central Illinois."
"Where in Central Illinois did you grow up?"

On and on the personal questions came. "Are you looking for a new church?"

Nope. Not looking at all. Just waiting on God. 

I glanced over at Curt to see if he was almost done talking when the men must have decided they had completed their informal interviews on us and announced that they would pray over us before we headed into the Boundary Waters.

And that prayer. 

Oh that prayer. 

It was a prayer that could have come straight from my heart. 

We know there are no coincidences with God. We knew our meeting was not an accident. We knew there was a purpose, but what that purpose was, none of us knew for certain. 

Before finally escaping, I mean, leaving the church that morning, the interim pastor introduced us to his wife and one of the women leaders in the church. We had a nice, quick visit, prayed with them as well and hurried to our truck. 35 minutes had passed. As we were leaving, Angus slipped a book into Curt's hands. He wasn't very clear on what the book was, but said we would enjoy reading it. A couple in the church had written it about their life and we could keep the copy we were given. We put the book on the dash of the truck, drove away, and didn't talk much about the entire event. 

Which is completely unlike us. We discuss everything. But not this. We were both lost in thought and prayer. 

At some point during our time in the Boundary Waters, Curt asked if I wanted to talk about the church. I knew what he was getting at and no. No, I did NOT want to talk about the church. First, there was nothing to discuss. Second, it was NORTHERN MINNESOTA. and third... There was no reason to discuss moving to a town simply to be part of a congregation. We had no job prospects and it wasn't as if God was calling Curt to pastor there because THEY HAD SOMEONE COMING FROM SOUTH CAROLINA TO POSSIBLY BE THEIR NEW PASTOR.

I effectively ended any conversation Curt may have wanted to have and in my mind that was that. D.U.N.N. Done. No more discussion.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. 

We came out of the Boundary Waters. We drove into Ely. We went to the church to get the camper so we could hurry and eat, do some last minute window shopping, and hit the road towards home. 

As we pulled into the parking lot at the church, Curt was tense. Admittedly, I was also, but he was particularly tense on this day. I backed the truck up to hook on the camper and Curt hopped out to help guide me. Isabel needed to use the restroom so as soon as the camper was on the truck, I shut off the engine and went to unlock the camper door. 

Curt almost beat me there. He was acting very out of character and he had me a little worried. As we walked up to the door, I could see his face and shoulders relax.  I thought he must have been worried about vandalism (ever since our car was broken into at Unicoi Gap in Georgia this is our number one worry when we leave a car somewhere). Then, just as quickly as he relaxed, his eyes opened in surprise. I followed his gaze, trying to figure out what had him shocked, as he reached up and pulled a baggie with a note inside from the handle of our camper. 

He looked at me. His expression was serious and foreboding. His words are forever etched in my brain. 

"I prayed for this."

I waited for an explanation. 

"As I prayed this week, I prayed for God to make it clear if our being here was His doing. I prayed for there to be a note, on our camper, when we came out of the Boundary Waters if He had guided us here, if us meeting this church was His doing."

My stomach dropped.

Curt had never, to my knowledge, prayed in such a way before. We've always prayed for God to give us open and closed doors. We've always prayed for God to let us know if the direction we are heading is what He desires for us or not, but to my knowledge, Curt has never prayed specifically for a note. 

And yet, there it was. 

Unbeknownst to us, the men in the Bible study had been praying as well. One of the men called Chris, the church coordinator and a member of the pastor search team, and said that he felt God had arranged our meeting; that the search team needed to pray and look into our meeting. The Friday we came out of the Wilderness, God, as Chris prayed while he worked, pressed on him the need to go to the camper and put a note on it for us to call. Chris fought it. He was busy. He could just call Curt later. There was really no need to talk with Curt because they already had a pastoral candidate, but the Holy Spirit did not relent. Chris couldn't take the pressure any longer, he left everything he was doing and went to the church and placed a note in the door handle of our camper. 

The next morning, Curt met with the entire Search Team for an informal meet and greet. I waited at the camper and prayed. I prayed and prayed and prayed. I could hardly believe the turn of events. Here we had been waiting for over two years for some type of direction and in the space of less than a week, my entire world was careening, spinning out of control. 

As if I was ever in control to begin with. 

As I prayed that morning, my prayers were more along the lines of, "Are you sure this is what you want, God? Are you really, really sure??" I was scared. I was nervous. I was anxious. It was the longest 3 hours of my life. 

Yes. Three hours. Curt expected to be gone for an hour, tops. When I finally heard a vehicle pull up after three hours I didn't know whether to cry or be annoyed. We had less than an hour to have our camper packed up and out of the campground or we would be charged for another day, but I had done nothing to ready it. I couldn't. The only thing I was capable of doing while Curt had been gone was pray. Now that he was back, all I could do was wait to hear what was said and asked.

In short, they all agreed that they had no idea why they were meeting. They had a pastoral candidate coming from South Carolina, but they all knew that God was up to something. Curt and I began to get the camper packed up for travel with the promise to share more with me as we drove, when Curt received a call from Chris. 

While Curt and the Search Team met, the candidate from South Carolina had sent an email. The email stated that he and his wife had been praying and they did not feel as if God was calling him to Ely. He was withdrawing his name from consideration. 

I started crying. 

There was absolutely no doubt that God was in this. 

What followed was 2 months of interviews, evaluations, and paperwork. 

And prayer. Lots and lots of prayer.

Throughout God would make Himself known at just the right moments. As soon as the other candidate had withdrawn his name, I knew this is what God was calling us to. Amazingly, nothing else mattered to me but doing His will. No longer did the cold, long winters matter. I was excited for the opportunity to embrace winter sports. I mean, if God can get a legally blind man to hike 2,200 miles on the Appalachian Tail, He can definitely change my heart about cold and winter. 

And He has. Completely.

Curt has had many struggles and doubts. Every time, and I mean every single time his doubts would surface, God revealed Himself to Curt. It may have been through a phone call, text, or scripture, but it became almost comical. No sooner would Curt ask me to pray for him than God would squash his uncertainty. One day in particular stands out. Curt came walking up the stairs, looked at me and said he was struggling with knowing whether it was truly what God wanted Him to do. He set his phone on the table, walked to the counter and his notification went off. Curt stood there fixing his coffee. I waited for a few seconds and asked him if he wanted me to look at what it was.

"No. I guarantee it is Chris."
"Why do you think it is Chris? Have you been texting with him?"
"Nope, but I have doubts as to whether God is calling me to pastor again, so I guarantee it is Chris."

I ran to the phone. 

It was Chris. 

In the text Chris said God had impressed upon him to pray for Curt that morning and he wanted to let Curt know. 

All I could do was laugh. And praise God, because He is good. 

I've waited to share this story for several reasons, but the biggest reason is, I have wanted to treasure every moment of God revealing Himself to us. Reveling in God's call while basking in His love has renewed my spirit. Even when sharing with family, I've withheld some details simply because speaking the events out loud somehow seems to lessen what God has done. 

The events I have shared with you here are just a very tiny snippet of an incredible three and half month journey. 

Well, that isn't completely accurate. 

It's been two and a half years. Two and a half years of walking by faith and waiting on God's direction. 

So, on Wednesday, we will be filling a Uhaul truck with all of our earthly possessions and begin our journey the next morning towards Ely, Minnesota. One chapter is ending and the next is beginning. 

As we turn the page, I hope you will continue to be part of our story. I hope many of you will come visit. We will be living where thousands of people come to vacation. You should be one of them 😊 . 

In the meantime, please pray for our family. Please pray for our children and please pray for us. It's always exciting when God calls us to a new ministry, but it doesn't mean it's ever easy. 

I know I haven't given as much detail as I could. If you have questions, please ask! Obviously there's a lot I didn't tell, but I wanted to cover the basics.

And if you are wanting a white Christmas, come see us. I hear there's always snow on the ground in December.

And January.

And March.

And even in June... <sigh>