Mega Road Trip

Hello Everyone,

 

Thank you for all of your prayers and love that continue to pour out on our behalf!  Everyday is showing evidence of Divine Miracles that are a direct result of your prayers and God hearing and answering those prayers.

 

We were miraculously able to leave Mesa, Arizona on our Mega Trek across the country with the huge itinerary that was outlined in the last email that was sent.  We actually got a head start on our trek back east and left Mesa, Arizona on Tuesday, December 13th at 3PM Arizona Time.  We were able to make it to Las Cruses, New Mexico where we spent the first night.  I mentioned that it was a miracle that we left because the two days and nights leading up to our departure was extremely bad for Don!  His pain level day and night was almost unbearable!  We were praying for God to give us clear signs as to what we should do and asking Him for wisdom.  To the human eye it looked like there was no way we could possibly go because of the extreme discomfort 24/7 Don was experiencing.  The night before we left I could see no way possible for this trip to start.  Don was literally crying out to God for relief of his pain and for His blessing to make this very important trip.  By morning his pain level was almost gone and he felt very rested which had to be divine because from a natural standpoint both of these things were impossible.  Don even had the energy to help me get the remainder of our things together and in the van so we could get on the road.  Don really feels strongly that he MUST see his parents at this time.  The sense of urgency is so great that it is totally consuming.  He also needs to get his license back and the only way to do it is to return to Tulsa.

 

When we left Mesa, Arizona it was pouring rain and very cold.  We took the southern route as it was snowing very heavily in Flag Staff, Arizona, in fact it snowed over 24 inches there that day!  We drove out of the rain about 2 hours after leaving home.  We stopped every hour and had Don walk around and do some stretches so he would not get too stiff.  We have a special air cushion for his seat and the van is really comfortable so he was really quite comfortable.  However, by the time it was night and we got to the hotel he was ready to get out and rest.

 

The second day was quite long as we had over 650 miles to go that day.  The first day we made it 333 miles but we didn't leave until afternoon either.   The second day we got on the road by 9:15AM which helped.  We were hoping to make it to Oklahoma City for the night but only made it to Clinton, Oklahoma which is about 85 miles west of Oklahoma City.  We got there about 11PM and got up at 6AM so we could get to his friend Vergie's for a quick visit. We picked her up at 10:15AM and went for a quick breakfast.  We then headed to Tulsa and arrived at 1:30PM.  We immediately went to JCT Trucking to make Don's first appearance at the offices where all of the driver managers, dispatchers and all the suppporting, praying, loving staff that we call family are.  What a wonderful time we had.  There were tears of joy and appreciation and lots of hugs!  We brought a small Christmas gift for the staff to enjoy as well.  I took lots of pictures of the tearful and loving hugs from many of the staff.  We stayed there for about 2 1/2 hours visiting most of the staff there.  We even had a very nice visit with John Christner, the owner of JCT Trucking, in his office just before we left.   Without the love and support from John Christner and his wife Gloria and all their wonderful staff and other drivers, we would never have made it!  Don has enjoyed having JCT as his family for over 22 years now.  He said it felt good to be "home".  This was very healing to Don and it was so special to see the genuine love from everyone there.  Don said, "that really made my day and my Christmas to be able to go home and see my family at JCT."  It was worth every mile of the 1148 miles that I drove to get him there to hear him say that.  I would do it all over again if it would help him in his recovery.

 

Today is Friday, December 16th and we have a jammed packed day with appointments with his doctor, trips to the drivers license and tag agency, CPA and many other important stops.  Tonight we are having a little get-together for people we know in the area that are not associated with our JCT Trucking family so we will have the opportunity to see them outside of the JCT 25th Anniversary/Christmas Party that we are attending tomorrow night.  We want to see as many of our prayer supporters as possible and let them see the miracle that Don is! 

 

So far everything is going extremely well and the weather has been clear for driving.  The weather couldn't have been better for driving with sunny skies and 55-60 degrees during the day.  Please pray that it continues to be good for the rest of our trip.

 

Sunday we will head up to his parent's house in Iuka, Illinois.  It is a 10 hour trip so we won't actually see them until Monday.  That will be the only full day we can see them and we will cherish every moment of that day.  Tuesday early afternoon we will head to Lexington, Kentucky so be praying for us as we go.

 

I will try to keep you updated with the exciting activities of the trip but my Internet time will be limited because of the long days that are jammed with important activities.

 

Hugs to you all!,

Don and Carol Schirr