Our Journey with Christ: 2016

God's surprise in the Mountains

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As promised, this blog is about a BIG surprised that God had for us in the mountains of West Virginia. The place where we stayed for our June family vacation, was about an hour- and -a -half away from Circleville, West Virginia, where Dan would go on summer mission trips with his home church, Bethany Presbyterian, during his teen years. The whole youth group, would drive to WV and do a Vacation Bible School (VSB) for the kids that live in the mountains. In the afternoon, there would be fun optional activities like hiking or visiting the highest point in WV at Spruce Knob. Dan has many memories from those years and often uses them when teaching our staff. Before I proceed further into this story, you have to understand something about Dan and me and our relationship; we LOVE pursuing each other! We love learning new things about each other and often try to find things the other person does not know. When we find something, we always get excited. I love this about our marriage. So as Dan was sharing, I saw it as an opportunity to learn more about my husband and what made him the man he is today. Therefore, we decided while on vacation to go as a family to some of the places he went with his youth group.

On our honeymoon in CA in June 2009

On the way, Dan was recounting his high school memories about the mission week and the fun times he had each year. He posed a few questions: I wonder if they are still doing the mission trip? Were the kids impacted through our week VBS trip? Since moving into missions, we have not had a lot of contact with his old church and did not know if they still did the week-long trip. However, we both agreed that the kids of WV were impacted through the VBS and there was lasting fruit even if we did not know or see it!

We arrived at Seneca Rocks, one of the places he went each year, and did a beautiful hike. It was a beautiful day. Then we continued on to the highest point in WV, Spruce Knob. Dan showed me all the places where he and his friends had races, climbed rocks or just hung out on top. We had Olive climb rocks and run around in the grass as I laid down with the sun beaming down on me. It was a great day learning more about my husband, but it was time to go as Olive needed a nap.

We were on our way down the rocks to go back to the van, when a group of young boys raced passed us; then some girls, walking at a slower pace, came into view followed by some older adults. Dan was ahead of Olive and me and some faces in that group seemed familiar to him. He heard a woman say, "Hey, that looks like Daniel McClelland." Dan replied, "I am Dan McClelland." Yes, it was God answering Dan's question in a miraculous way: “Yes, the youth group is still making the trips and here they are talking to you!”

All of us could not believe the "God sighting" that was happening and knew that God had a reason for having us bump into each other in this surprising way! There were so many details that only God could have lined up for us to meet: us having a week vacation the exact same week as the VBS, the day that we chose to go hiking was the day they planned to go too, we both chose the same path to walk as there are two paths that lead up the mountain, and the exact timing of our intersection was crucial to us even meeting. All of this points clearly to our God!

We stood shocked for a moment and then quickly caught up about our life as many of the leaders where the same 11 years ago when Dan was in HS. We then parted ways after praying together. As we were about to leave, the leader, Dave, invited us to join them for a camp dinner that night at 6 pm. We said we would think about it and went our separate ways. As we drove off, we decided that we had to take this opportunity and go to dinner. We drove until Olive was asleep and then parked to pray, asking God what He wanted us to share when we would see people at the dinner. God highlighted that we should encourage the faithfulness of these leaders and of the church to send people on this VBS trip year after year. We also wanted to communicate the impact it has made on Dan and how it has shaped him into the man of God he is today. Lastly, we wanted to share the truth that each of the teens had so much to give the kids in the VBS.

We drove into the same campsite that Dan had stayed at during high school. For me, the city girl, the stories Dan told me of building a dam in the river to take a bath because the camp did not have working showers was surreal. As we arrived, they saw us and a man shouted, "They came!" We stayed for 2 hours, encouraging each other. I had the opportunity to meet many leaders that have poured into Dan and was able to thank them personally, as I have received the benefit of the time and effort they gave 11 years ago. Dan noticed that many of the leaders were the same as when he was in HS. We were amazed once again by the Faithfulness of God. We learned that this was the 31st year they have been leading the trip, and that many of the WV kids they attended the VBS in the beginning were now sending their kids to the VBS!

What a great reminder that as we stay faithful to God’s calling on our life,
He will produce much fruit to the next generation.

Refreshment in Western Virginia

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Dan and I had the opportunity to take a week vacation in western VA, and it was glorious! We rented a cabin in the mountains, far away from the busyness of D.C. We hiked almost every day. Olive got used to the routine of being in the hiking carrier as we made the climb up, then getting out to eat and play, and finally being back in the carrier for the hike down. We took our time with everything. I remember as we were choosing a place to eat one day, I was hurrying to decide. As I was rushing to make a decision, Dan reminded me, "Carole, our schedule is free from other responsibilities. We can take our time to select a restaurant." It felt nice not to be on a schedule.

For most of our meals, we cooked our own food for the week, which is different than living in community where someone else plans the meals. At the Lighthouse, we all rotate cooking (which is a blessing for which we are grateful). As we prayed together, we asked Father for a different topic every evening. We prayed for our family, our 12 staff who serve alongside us in the ASL ministries, our larger David's Tent community, a vision for the future, and more. God spoke in clear, amazing ways as He always does! We even got to watch a few movies (Dan) and play some games (Carole), two things that help us relax, and we enjoy to do together. It was a much needed week for us to recharge for the coming months. God does know our every need and supplies us rest.

We took Olive to a Kids Explore Museum on a rainy day.

Enjoy the pictures capturing the moments of fun!

They had different stations that encourages the kids to explore and learn through play.

She had so much fun discovering velcro and loved shopping at the grocery store.

She worked the lights for a show of two boys in a sword fight.

Her favorite station was the car lift and Daddy taught her so much! She stayed forever at his one.

I am excited to share in August a testimony of how God arranged a Divine Appointment for us on our vacation that only He could do!

A visit to the McClelland Farm

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This April, Olive and I had the opportunity to go visit Grandma and Grandpa at the farm, where Dan was raised! Olive loved exploring and I got some great time with Jesus!

Her favorite spot at the Farm, well anywhere really, is always the window! She takes after her Dad very much with loving the great outdoors.

In March of this year, Olive had a scary fall and scratched her nose. She still has a scar on her nose from that day. She is and was a trooper! We put lotion on it everyday, day by day it is fading.

Olive loved the big bath tub for the first time! And grandma had so many toys to play with!

Olive loves to read! Every morning and every night, she will sign "book"! Of course she has her favorites and one of her daddy's favorites as a child too, "Hand, Hand, Fingers Thumb" by Dr. Seuss.

The last day, we took a walk outside in the rain! Olive saw the barn, chased the cat and sat for a cute picture for Daddy, who was still in DC! I love seeing her explore and there was so much to explore at the farm!