Life in Raleigh

We've survived the first week. Survived the spiders, mosquitoes, and humidity. They are still here, but we've survived the first week, so I figure we can probably keep going a bit longer. The first week has also been a learning experience. I've learned that pretty much everybody who said good things about the area was telling the truth, and everyone who said negative things lied to my face. This place is as green as I heard it was. It is, however, not flat! There are hills and hills and hills. No mountains around with snow capped peaks or anything, but hills galore! Poor Alex was looking forward to an easier bike ride to work every morning, not the case. The people here are also so warm and welcoming. They speed like mad people on the freeway, but they are so nice about it. A woman cut me off the other day while I was waiting to pick up the two boys I'm nannying from school. She pulled over and got out of her car, walked up to my window and apologized for doing that. I've never in my life had a driver apologize to me. It's almost scary how cordial these North Carolinians are. My Portland sarcasm is going to be a shocker.

Our jobs are going well. Alex fits right in with his new work team at Starbucks in Cary. And the family I'm working with is very fun. The boys are...well...boys. I'm accustomed to boys though, four brothers will do that to you! They told me they want me to pick them up from school for the rest of their time at the academy - that they don't want to have to start taking the bus next year because they like me better. Score one for the nanny.

We are still painfully poor. We were able to pay for all of our moving expenses and our August prorated rent, but the next month is almost upon us, so we are scraping together all of our pennies to make end's meet. Alex wanted to rent a Redbox movie last night but I told him we couldn't afford the $1.29 until our next paycheck. *Sigh* so pathetic. I'll admit, I have been stressing about it a bit. I want to tell myself that I trust the Lord to have brought us this far and not leave us now. I want to tell myself that He'll give me that peace that passes understanding...but I simply don't right now. I won't fake it 'til I make it. I don't believe in that. I'd rather be honest.

So, honestly, I was crying last night thinking about how we can't even buy laundry detergent right now. Fortunately, our team has been so great to let us come over and use laundry machines, or make us dinner. Anyways, this morning I woke up a little depressed. I had watched Becoming Jane a few days ago (oh I do love girly movies) and there's a line where Jane's father is encouraging her to marry a guy she doesn't want to but he is wealthy: "Nothing breaks spirit like poverty." I thought about that when I woke up with a small grey cloud over my head. I don't want that to be true of me. I want to have the same fervor for Jesus that I do when things are going smooth with my life circumstances. Then Alex texted me from work with a verse he had read today. It is Romans 8:32 - "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will He not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" I don't know an onomatopoeia for conviction. But if conviction makes a sound, it rung loudly in my ears as I read that out loud. Ok, Jesus, you've got this.

I am sincerely looking forward to watching how this all works out for my good...and His glory.

Day 9 - Kentucky/Tennessee/North Carolina

Oh me, oh my, I can't believe my eyes...yes, yes it is! There's the promised land! We made it! We crossed the North Carolina border in the early afternoon after driving through our last time zone change in TN. As we drove, I looked all around and saw trees, trees, and more trees. I also saw hills (I mean, even after we crossed the Great Smoky Mountains). All our fellow church planters that moved out before us told us it was a flat land...they may have exaggerated a bit. Sure, there aren't looming mountains in your view, but there sure are hills big enough to wind you on a commuter bike (which is how Alex will be getting to work every day). 

We filled up our gas tank one more time (and prayed for God to help it last until work starts replenishing our account) and pulled into the apartment complex just as the sun was setting. Driving through the neighborhood that will be our home for at least the next year was so surreal. I felt a sense of belonging and pride filling my chest. God has definitely given me a heart for this city. He has also given me a heart that appreciates a hot shower - which I was very much looking forward too once we unloaded a few things. 

We got out of the car and I was so giddy to see our new home. I did a little jig in the parking lot, clapping my hands, singing "we're going to have a dishwasher, and a disposal, and a full sized fridge!" Alex walked us down the stairs to our front door, he said the landlord had left a spare key for us above the door (it's not there anymore so don't come try to break in to my house). Alex slid his hand along the top but didn't find the key. So he tried again...*SWISH*...the key slipped off the door frame and fell (perfectly) through the slats in the deck we stood on! Dead silence. Staring at the floorboards. We looked up at each other - then just busted up laughing! "That's going in the blog!" I said. 

Alex went to the car and grabbed one of our flashlights. We walked down around to where there is a crawl space under the deck towards where the key was dropped into the mulch below. Alex took a stick with him to clear out the spider webs and bear-crawled his way to where our key was. He had to look a bit but was successful in the end. Phew! 

We definitely needed showers after that! But, what's this? No shower curtain? No problem! 

My husband is a very good problem solver. Either that or he's really good at pretending he lives in the ghetto...he is from So Cal after all. 

It's always good to be able to find humor in every situation. Even without a shower curtain, we were able to make light of it and enjoy a luxuriously warm rinse. 

Our journey is almost complete. We still have to unpack and return the uHaul (which I'm sure Franco is stoked about), we need to get all the details sorted out with switching all the apartment services to our name, and we need to get a lay of the land! Tomorrow is our first day in our new home and our new homeland - I wonder what stories await us! 

Day 8 - Kentucky

There is so much preserved history at Mammoth Cave National Park - it's any nerd's dream land. 

The visitors center offers free information sessions and all the rangers are really friendly. We asked one ranger which cave tour he would recommend if he could only do one on his visit. He recommended the historic cave tour, so we signed up for the noon tour to kill a few hours during the heat of the day. 

Ranger Steve was our guide.

He had all kinds of puns up his sleeve. 

The cave was much much cooler than above ground, about 30 degrees cooler in fact. 

We descended the stairs leading into what is called the "historic entrance" of the caves. We weren't sure if we'd make it out, so we took a photo to preserve our memory just in case. 

It turns out, spelunking is pretty spectacular. I hadn't been in a cave since high school and I felt my inner kid rising up to the surface. 

It helped that Ranger Steve told us all kinds of ghost stories and kept turning out the cave lights to show us what it must have been like for the first explorers of the caverns. 

We squeezed through tight passages, ducked through low tunnels, and wove our way down to 310 feet below the Earth's surface.

We even found life down there.

That tiny thing is a bat. The type that lives here is quite small. Ranger Steve called them chicken nuggets with wings. 

Eventually, we made it out alive. 

All the southern history we were exposed to gave us a hankering for corn bread. So we put together a little experiment...corn bread in a skillet on the camp stove! 

I'm not going to tell you it was the best cornbread I've ever made, cause that would be a lie. It was, however, edible and with some honey on top it wasn't half bad. Except for the bottom. The bottom was burnt. It was worth a shot though! And it certainly put Alex in the country spirit. 

Soon we'll leave Kentucky behind for the long haul to North Carolina. 

I can't believe we're almost to our new home! I'll tell all about it in Day 9! 

Day 7 - Missouri/Illinois/Indiana/Kentucky

After waking up at a rest stop, we continued on to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. It was so nice to make it to a destination before dark! We actually had time to cook up some grub and set up the tent in daylight. 

Getting to Kentucky took us through a few states. We saw the world's largest McDonald's...

Well, ok, the St. Louis Arch. 

We crossed borders...

The drive was so green. I know it's crazy humid but it sure does keep everything looking nice. We are also experiencing more southern accents. It's very hard for me not to mimic them.

There were threats of thunder storms at Mammoth Cave but luckily they passed over us on our way there.

I've always loved when it dumps super hard but then abruptly let's up just 5 minutes later. It reminds me of monsoon season in Nepal from back when I visited there. 

Other than a few showers, it was smooth sailing. After our initial arrival and camp set-up we made a delicious treat. 

These were Alex's idea: peanut butter and Nutella s'mores! They were so good! I can't believe I've never thought of them before. I think they are going to become our new tradition. 

We picked up some better bug repellent and I wore plenty of layers this time...no more itchy bites for me!

The campfire helped keep the bugs away too. I purposefully made it extra smokey...ok maybe not on purpose...I'm just not that good at building fires...

It was a nice relaxing evening. We watched the blinking fireflies and enjoyed the (slightly) cooler air. 

We are so excited to do some spelunking tomorrow and check out these caverns...hopefully it won't turn into a Tom Sawyer story and we'll be lost in the caves with nothing but a lantern...we'll see! 

Day 6 - South Dakota/Iowa/Missouri

They say there is a first time for everything. I didn't think I would ever experience a first time of cooking a scramble for lunch on the side of the road in Iowa. I have to admit, however, it was one of the best cowboy scrambles I've ever had. 

I had to wash the dishes in the bathroom but it was a cheap meal with supplies we already had. I'm pretty good at being poor now. 

We started driving pretty early so it was nice to have a little picnic time. 

We drove and drove and drove until we couldn't drive any longer. So Day 6 held another first for me. It was my first time sleeping overnight at a rest stop. Alex strung together some towels and made curtains for the back of the car. We rolled out our sleeping pad and slept the appropriate 8 hours before getting up with the sun to start driving again. 

We're both starting to go a little stir crazy from all the driving...we've run out of driving games and have listened to all of our CDs multiple times. Thankfully, there have been no major fights, although, I get a little snappy if Alex tries to ask me anything before I've had my coffee. 

It's getting more and more like the scenery I expect to be surrounded by in Raleigh - lots of dense wooded areas broken up by field or muddy rivers. No mountains. 

During the endless driving, one of the conversations we had was about how the Proverb we read that day mentioned: "Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8 NIV)" - and though we only have a little, we wouldn't trade it for the ability to afford more materialistic things. We are tight financially, but we are so content with our life. This adventure is worth what little we have. 

We continue on towards Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky - let's see what treasures await in Day 7! 

Day 5 - South Dakota

The Badlands provided some good times. As it was Sunday, we had ourselves a little church service, playing music and reading out of Proverbs. 

The sun rises early so we woke up before we had planned - it wasn't a disappointment though! The Badlands are so bizarre looking. Our campsite was on flat ground in a valley but these jagged formations shoot up out of nowhere...they kind of look like candy corn sticking up out of the ground. 

We enjoyed a slow morning and headed to some hiking trails through the "mountains" (I'm not too sure what to call them). 

We had to sign in and out of the trails because apparently people get lost out here. For me, that meant It was the perfect opportunity for me to don my best Bear Grylls accent and pretend we were surviving out in the elements, far from civilization! 

Yes, I have a vivid imagination...

The trails went on for miles. We treated it as acclamation for North Carolina, because *holy cow* was it humid! 

Alex led the way - pointing out the interesting plant life. 

These cacti were growing atop a 6-foot little plateau. It really was indescribable what these sculpture-like mounds looked like up close. 

At one point in the hike, we came across an area where people leave their marks arranging rocks into messages. We left ours: 

A couple of hours into the trek, we came to a tall point that I decided would be a good idea to climb up. Why not? We carefully made our way up to the peak.

You can see the progression of how much windier it was at the top by the placement of my bangs. Above, they are a bit disheveled. Below, it gets worse...

But the view from up there was so worth the climb. I feel like I should insert something spiritual here about mountain highs and valleys and the risk being worth the result...but I'll just leave it for now and let the relation be obvious to those who would see it. 

I have to say, I don't mind that we had to miss out on Mt. Rushmore if it meant getting to spend more time here. This is a place I would love to revisit sometime. The only downside was the Mosquitos. They ate me alive! I put on bug spray and everything (but they're probably immune to my hippie natural stuff...). Oh well, I guess the itching will give me something to remember that place by. 

One of the best memories I'll come away from our visit to the Badlands with is of Cortney. He is a young man from Jamaica who is working at the park for the summer. Alex and I were working on some new music at our campsite when he drove by on his golf cart, checking the sites and whatnot. We could hear gospel music playing from his radio. Alex looked at me and I smiled. Alex walked over to where the young man was at the site next to us and introduced himself. We got to chat with him for a minute and we asked if he was a believer. He said yes and that he didn't meet many believers at the park. We told him where we were going and what we were doing and he was so excited for us. I wish I could type in a Jamaican accent cause his was so cool. 

On our way out of the park the next morning we saw him again and stopped to say goodbye. He sent us off with a blessing "that a lot of souls get saved." Cortney had told us that there are a lot of believers in Jamaica... I hope that can be said of our country again soon. When you hear of foreign missionaries coming here to preach, you know it's bad. It is so good to know that we will be on mission to our country in North Carolina, we get to be a part of changing what Cortney's experience has been here in the States. 

After this, we'll drive as far as we can to somewhere in Missouri, crash, and continue on to Kentucky! Keep a lookout for Day 6! 

Day 4 - Wyoming/South Dakota

Leaving Yellowstone National Park was bittersweet. I wish we had more time to explore the beauty of that place but at least I feel like we got a good glimpse of what there is to see by enjoying the geysers. 

On our way out of the park we drove along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. The view was incredible...early morning light reflecting pink off of the glassy water...Alex said he imagined that's what heaven would feel like. We talked about how maybe heaven is just being able to finally have time to enjoy all the beauty that God created. It truly was heavenly to drive through that tranquil place. 

Before we could leave, we got a nice goodbye from a friendly roadside Bison.

We spent 12 hours in the car driving across Wyoming into South Dakota. There's a really high mountain pass that we had to go over and our trailer would only allow us to drive about 30 mph. I had the task of getting Franco to the top. He's such a champ! 

Luckily, Wyoming is much prettier than Idaho was...no offense Idaho. There are gorgeous dramatic mountains and green fields...

Day 4 was a great day for looking out the window. 

In the evening we made it to the border. 

We hade hoped to see Mt. Rushmore, but since it was such slow going, we had to skip it. Sad face. I guess it gives us an excuse to make another cross-country road trip sometime in the future right? Maybe with a sweet retro Airstream or something. 

We made it to the Badlands National Park campground after dark. For din din we roasted weenies with cheese and enjoyed a can of Modelo. You can't go camping without cheap canned beer...it's just not the same. 

Next, we'll explore all that the Badlands have to offer and enjoy a day off from driving (Franco will enjoy it too). Maybe we'll do a little Sunday morning worship at the campsite. I know our biggest prayer right now is that our funds hold out. Driving is eating up our account and we found an apartment to move into that requires a deposit and first month's rent as soon as we arrive. I guess we were banking on being homeless for a little longer? Hmm...well either way - join us in praying that our money continues to be just enough for what we need. And see what tales we have to tell of the Badlands in Day 5! 

Day 3 - Wyoming

What a fun-filled day we had in Yellowstone National Park! After all the driving we had been doing, it was so great to have a day to play. 

Being as it was our first night we had no idea just how much the temperature drops at that elevation. It was a good thing we had our NorthFace fleeces and coffee for the morning! 

We couldn't have enjoyed the chilly morning without the help of the convenient Starbucks Via packets that we brought along. 

Before heading out for the day to enjoy some of the features of Yellowstone, we noticed someone behind our camping spot that wanted to have some coffee too: 

My phone camera takes really bad photos but this guy was so close! He was HUGE too. I was a little worried that he might be interested in our breakfast but we noticed a lady elk a little ways off so I think he was trying to get a hot date and didn't bother us. 

We had to drive a few miles from our campsite to the upper geyser area where Old Faithful is located. Once you are there at the visitors center you have to walk on this 4 mile loop to see all the geysers...so we said "forget that! We're renting bikes!" 

The bikes were only $25 for 4 hours and it was well worth not having to walk around in that intense sun. 

The bike rental guy gave us a list with times for when the geysers were "predicted" to go off. The first one was Old Faithful. And just like clockwork, Old Faithful goes off every 1.5 hours. 

Our informant told us that the best geyser is the Grand Geyser. We rode around and looked at some of the other sights while we waited for that one to go off. The thing is, they can only estimate the time the geysers will go off, but the Grand (apparently) can go off within a 3-hour prediction time...in other words...they say 5pm but it could be as early as 3:30 or as late as 6:30. You just have to wait and hope it goes off earlier. 

We got to the Grand at about 5 and it hadn't gone off yet. So we waited. 

And we waited and we waited. For about an hour we sat and watched the gurgling hole in the ground. I thought Alex was going to pass out from heat stroke. Finally, we saw the bubbles get bigger. Then, all of a sudden, show time! 

Words and photos cannot express how amazing the sight was. The water shot over 100 feet into the air! It was awesome! And stinky. The sulphur really hits you when you're right in front off the spray. It was so worth the wait though. 

Isn't that the truth about patience? You have to actually wait and use it. But good things come to those who wait. Alex was skeptical of whether it would be worth it or not...but he's a believer now! 

Join us as the fun continues in Day 4!