Tires

In 1971 we were living in La Mission, Baja California. The summer before our oldest son Bob had stayed a few weeks with the Watkins family in Oregon. He had worked in the fields and earned enough money to buy new school clothes. So the following summer, we all went to Oregon to earn money. We crawled around on our knees picking strawberries about a week but earned only a few dollars. Since God was n’t blessing our efforts, we began thinking maybe God had something else in mind for us to be doing during that summer.

Then a phone call came from the church in San Diego asking James t
o come and administer a funeral service. While he was away I felt God was saying, “Go to Monark Spring Camp Meeting." I said nothing to James about it.

The night after he returned, we were discussing God’s will and he said, “I believe we should take the children to Monark, however our tires will never make the trip."

“Maybe God will send money for new tires,” one of the children suggested. “We really want to go.”

“Well let’s pray,” James answered.

Because God had told us both, and we were 1,000 miles apart, our assurance of it being God’s will was strong. We had enough money for gasoline, so we loaded the car and started. I don’t remember how far we went before the first blow out. Seems it was somewhere in Idaho, anyway we were stranded beside the road. The children jump out to freedom and started running down the moderately sloping embanking. In a few minutes one called, “Come look. Here is a tire.' James raced down, and I followed holding Leah’s hand.

Needless to say, the tire was the right size. God always send what is useful.

We went on a few hundred mile and had another blow-out. This time a man in a pick-up stopped to help us. He was from the tire shop in the nearest town and had been called to change a tractor tire.Guess what? He had the company truck. The pick-up bed was half full of tires. He gave us two; just the size we needed and helped James put one on.

On we went; I can’t remember how God supplied the other tire. What I remember is we drove into the Monark Camp ground with four new (different) tires than when we started in Oregon.

The saints were singing. It sounded like heaven to us weary travelers. I got up in the pulpit and testified how God brought us there. Maybe some of you “old timers” can remember that testimony.

During that meeting, God told us to not return to our home in Mexico. He impressed us to keep our children ages, 6 though 16 near the saints for a few years. We did and they all found wonderful spouses among the people of God.

As I reflect on the past, I wonder what great differences would be in our family today had we not followed God's directions and started out that day from Oregon without good tires on our cars?

When James returned to Mexico to bring some of our belongings he discovered that our neighborhood had turned up-side down. Two girls (that Rosi walked to school with) had been raped. Also drinking and drugs were freely accessible. It was a bad place for children. God sent us away just in time.