We would like to share the continuation from last month about our move across North America to work with AWA!
Tears had been a familiar part of the whole day on Sunday, July 7th. The chapter of our lives in Oregon, our birth place, was closing. The tears did not fully hit until driving into and out of Portland, OR. It was 6 pm and the towering fir trees were wrapped in rays of retiring sun. That night we got a 3 ½ hour head start on our journey making it to Pendleton, OR. We all were emotionally raw and weary, but so glad to be on our way. The following morning brought new determination.
Ogden, Utah was the first leg on Monday. Not being able to go faster than 70 mph with the Penske truck, left us often going 65 mph or less because of hills and demanding terrain in certain places. The journey was not fast but the growth from start to finish was. On Tuesday morning, from Ogden, UT we continued and were given God’s speed for a grueling leg all across Wyoming. He gave us a 40 mph tailwind, and by sunset, we had reached North Platte, Nebraska! Oh how we were tired from that 650+ mile run. It would repeat Wednesday morning with another 650 mile run from North Platte, NE to St. Charles, Missouri.
Each day we pushed as far as we could go for as long as we could go. Thursday morning, Kyle’s parents flew home after they helped drive the awkward Penske truck. We set out early from St. Charles, MO to Knoxville, Tennessee. Suddenly, Welcome to West Virginia signs met our eyes! We had not routed ourselves through West Virginia at all! Finally we found that our GPS rerouted us 3 times without us knowing until it was too late! Still, it was an answer to prayers – not ours, but God had rerouted us. My mom, Linda, had prayed that she might see West Virginia; but, she didn’t tell anyone. God answered my mom’s prayer through our GPS! So the next morning we left Princeton WV, and drove down into North Carolina.
We can only assume that Abraham had such a journey when God commanded him to pack up, leave his home, and go to a new place to fulfill His purpose for him. Such faith he had! Such faith we tasted!
At 1:35 pm on Friday, July 12th, we rolled into Johnston Regional Airport to AWA’s hangar. Finally! After crossing 12 states, we had arrived! The office staff at AWA came out to hug us and welcome us to North Carolina. We were home, finally home. Hardly any work was done the rest of the day, for we all were so happy to finally be together in a permanent setting. The following weeks would prove to be monstrously intense as we prepared for and engaged in the EAA air venture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, then hunting for a house around Smithfield, NC area, and finding one all before preparing for the Pathfinder Camporee 2 weeks later again in Oshkosh, WI.
Now that we are here, we have hit the ground running, settling in and eager to move into our new home the beginning of September. That’s a whole other chapter in God’s story of how He’s moved us, with your support, into the realm of the extraordinary.
Your AWA Mission Family stationed at AWA Headquarters in Smithfield, NC,
Kyle, Rebecca, and Hadahsa Stevenson
