Matthew Mobile Hope Fam. That’s what we call ourselves….Matt, me, Leah, and Micah. We definitely feel the “fam” part, but the “mobile” part? Not so much!
We sold our home and farm in June and planned to be traveling, sharing the Gospel, by July. How much we were reminded that “the mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)! First, we had issues with the bus we bought to live and travel in. Plan B came to pass and Matt chose instead to get the bus, that we were planning to sell, off-grid capable. We dropped that bus in NC for the supposedly 2 week time frame that it would take for the solar system to be installed and went to SC to stay with Matt’s parents while we waited.
Did I say wait? Well…. while in SC Matt had a severe back injury that immobilized him for 7 weeks. This turned out to be one of the most intense times that our family has been through.
Leah, Micah, and I tried to make the best of things and got involved with volunteering at a ranch that reaches kids and families with the love of God through equine therapy. Leah and I met a couple of young moms in the neighborhood and did a Bible study with them. We got to know a family that had been traveling missionaries and were taking a break before getting back on the road. We even had a chance to minister with them to the homeless in their community. An extra special thing for me was time with a friend who was very instrumental in starting Hope for Kids. She and her husband moved to SC a few years ago and my time with her was like medicine!
But for Matt, this was his absolute wilderness. The pain he experienced was unimaginable. It went beyond a “normal” back, sciatic, or leg issue. Making the decision that God would be his primary care physician was one that came into question many times as the pain seemed unbearable. But he was steadfast. God was his healer. And he would trust God with and in the process.
I can think of two very contrasting wilderness experiences in the Bible. The first, the Israelites, and the second Jesus. In the wilderness of the Israelites, they complained and questioned and looked to other gods. They ended up in the wilderness for 40 years and most of them never saw the promised land! Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, depended completely on His Father, did not complain or question, overcame the enemy with the Word of God, and ended the experience with readiness and power to accomplish what God had sent him to do. That was Matt’s wilderness of choice! Neither wilderness experience was fun I’m sure, but Jesus’ wilderness had so much purpose.
After arranging for someone to drive our off grid bus to us in SC, Matt felt like it was time for us to get back to New England. He had a few encounters with Jesus that encouraged him and brought him great strength and a measure of freedom from pain. We planned to leave SC for the trip back thinking it might take 3 weeks since Matt hadn’t been able to drive. As we were preparing to leave, we all noticed that our car tire was flat. It was already attached to our bus and we were quite discouraged. However, Matt did what he always does in a situation like that- pray! Within minutes the tire completely inflated! That was our first miracle. The next miracle is that we made the trip back in 2 days! Matt pulled over a few times to lie down and ice the sore area, but he felt the presence of God so strongly and was able to continue to drive.
When we got back here we moved into our white bus- our tiny home- and parked our off-grid (green) one at our son’s house.
Our plan was to spend November and December with our kids and grandkids and leave for Texas (our next assignment) after Christmas in our off-grid bus. We winterized the white bus, packed our green one all up, said goodbye to our kids, and…..the bus broke down! So here we still are.
In the meantime, Matt is doing several delivery jobs on the side to earn extra money to fix up the bus so we can get on our way. Another Proverbs verse is in our hearts right now- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) We DO trust Him! And we will continue to follow His lead.
In another post I will share about Hope for Kids and the HFK building in Springfield. A testimony to the faithfulness of God!