Sunday, October 10, 2010

Ft. Bragg has been great! Want to hear a God story?

Hello and thanks for tuning in again!  Thank you, Laura, for letting me spend the night last night- and for letting me spend the night tonight also.  Our faith is the raw material that God can use to show His providence.  He led me to this wonderful lady, who has been an angel!  She took me to church with her today and I had the opportunity to get up and tell about The Walk.  It went well- you wouldn't know that I used to be afraid of public speaking- now you can't shut me up!  It is a pleasure to talk about those kids and the opportunity God has given me to help out in this way.  After the service was over I heard, "Hey Craig."  I turned around and there was the pastor I had just met a few days ago in MacKerricker Park!  He has been camping out with his family and just happened to choose Grace Community Church to worship at this Sunday! 

At church I met a nice man who offered me a place to stay when I get down by the town of Mendocino.  We talked about where and when I may be able to meet up with him tomorrow.  I found myself getting a little anxious, and, I confess, a bit "testy"!  Let me explain.  I still did not know how I was going to continue The Walk.  Walking, riding...?  I have found, and this is quite obvious and understandable, but less so if you are not directly affected by it, and that is this--our mode of transportation profoundly affects our thinking and our planning.  Airplane, vehicle, bicycle, feet... a huge difference between each.  On foot, not a step can be wasted or idle.  Everything needs to be planned and anticipated as much as possible.  What I mean is this- when someone says, "Oh, it's a little ways down the road", and it is actually 2 miles- for someone driving this is a few minutes, for someone on foot, this means an hour.  Big difference.  I'm not whining about walking, I am just saying that it forces you to use your time very wisely, and so when I speak to someone about where and when, I really need to know precisely.  Know what I mean?  I'm just sharing one of those things with you that I am finding out.  It is something to keep in mind when you see a homeless person or you think about people in other countries who may only get around on foot.  So, there you go........

Want to hear a "God story?"  Good!!!  I thought you would!  As you know, I've been thinking and praying about what to do- walk, ride, walk, ride...................  Last night before I went to sleep I revisited the jog-behind stroller idea.  I had come across this idea recently, but discarded it as a bit odd.  Don't ask me why- I just think that pushing a stroller around with a backpack in it seems a bit, well, dorky!  Sorry, don't mean to offend anyone!  Well, I've been a dork before!  I got to thinking about it and it occurred to me, "Hey, a stroller would be completely appropriate because my pack would have the banner sign on it with all the kid's pictures and this whole thing is about children- the Coder children and all God's children."  So when I got up in the morning I shared this idea with Laura.  She had something to add.  She shared that before she went to sleep she kicked around some ideas for perhaps renaming The Walk.  Listen to this, it's great, and I may very well use it-- how about "Walk and Roll"?  Good stuff, huh?  Leave me a comment and tell me what you think......but I'm getting ahead of myself...  So after church I am starting to get a little anxious, but I know He will provide an answer- I just don't know when and I know that it has to be pretty quick (pardon the haste Papa).  Walk, ride, or push stroller, how to get a bike and where, how to get a stroller and where, back still hurts, need groceries, need to eat, can't waste time......?.......   I got online and checked out Craigslist for bikes in Ft. Bragg and found a few, but still not sure.  Still toying with the stroller idea..... Googled "stroller" to find out just what those things are really called so I can look for them on Craigslist.  I found "jog-behind stroller" and called around Ft. Bragg.  None to be found.  This is a large town on the coast around here- but it is not that large!  I'm paging through the yellow pages to look for something that jumps out at me- nothing does.  Help me Lord!  I went back to the computer to see how the e-world could help when I heard the door rattle.  Laura came busting in from her shops outside and said, "Hey, a woman just said she saw one of those strollers in a garage sale in Cleone yesterday!  Get online and check out the classifieds on the Advocate website."    So I did.  I found one sale in Cleone listed for yesterday on Sashandre Lane.  I talked to the woman who had seen it and she gave me a rough description of where it was, "north on Hwy 1, about a block off."  A little sketchy, but worth a try.  I drove Laura's van out to Cleone (population 570- I know 'cause I just checked out the picture I took of the Cleone sign!).  I didn't see any "Sashandre Lane" sign so I stopped at the little Cleone grocery store.  I asked the young man if he knew of any "Sashandre Lane" and he said "no."  He told me that there was a map by the door.  I checked it out, and nope, no Sashandre Lane shown, or even one in the legend.  I left and thought I'd drive north a little ways anyway.  I went a ways, but found nothing.  I saw an inn ahead with a parking lot that looked like I could use the far end to turn around in.  I got there and a little voice said, "Keep going."  I did.  Just ahead I saw a "yard sale" sign taped to the post that held the sign saying, yes, you guessed it, "Sashandre Lane!"  I turned in and the first yard on the right had no stuff in it- the gate was closed and nobody appeared to be around.  I drove up a bit and turned around- that first place has to be it but it doesn't look like it.  I parked in front of the gate, opened it and walked towards the house, thinking, "I hope there is no big dogs around the corner!"  I stepped up on the deck, went to the door and knocked.  I knocked again.  I finally heard a woman's voice.  She opened the door and I asked her if she had had a sale and if she had a jogging stroller.  She said, "Yes" and "Yes"!!  She opened the garage door and there it was!  I paid up, thanked them much, told them about what a bit of a miracle this had been, and took off!  I got back to Laura's and she was excited!  It needed a little work, and I don't have tools.  I knew that there was an open bike shop on Big River by Mendocino.  I called them, thinking that since I got a good deal on the stroller, I would be willing to invest in a little professional help on the thing.  I had called Catch a Canoe earlier to inquire about a stroller.  No, they didn't have one.  I called back and said, "Remember me?"  "Guess what I have?"  They said to bring it down.  I did (in the van).  I got there and a very nice man named Rick asked me to fill out a tag.  I started to then asked when it would be ready.  He said, "Oh, within a week."  Oh-oh!  No good!  I told him what I was doing and how I needed to get back on the road.  He didn't have a mechanic there on Sunday.  But this good man immediately started helping me figure things out.  He offered a blinking light at cost, so that I would be visible and safe.  He then offered me the full use of the mechanic's room and bench and I proceeded to fix that stroller up!  Rick got me a new cable and I fixed the hand brake.  I then packed the front bearings in grease (I hope the back 2 are OK).  Ready to go!!!  I thanked Rick (if you are reading this Rick, thank you again!) and took his picture.  He asked me to stop by when I get down that way.  You bet!  I headed back to Ft. Bragg and stopped to shop at Safeway.  Now weight is not as much of an issue.  I bought some groceries and supplies and headed for Laura's.  I told her all about Rick's help and she was happy about that "God story" too. 

This evening I took Laura out to dinner and we had a nice meal in a steak house.  That is the least I could do for this nice lady.  Now I am going to repackage and condense my food and get to bed, because I'm hitting the road again tomorrow morning! 

Just look at these great people I have met!  All very inspiring, all very positive and encouraging,...it is just such a tremendous blessing!!!!!!!!!!!  I don't think that I necessarily had to step out like I did to experience this- but it helps.  What I mean is this- people are responding to The Walk and its "idea", but that is not the only thing at work here.  God certainly is at work here and is demonstrating His providence, but there is still more... some of it is that people are responding to what I am doing and to my enthusiasm, but still this is not all.  It is mostly about God's Will.  His Will being done.  When this happens, when we really pursue it, good, no, GREAT, things happen!  When it is about Him, and not ME or US, then the good stuff starts happening.  Brothers and sisters, I am here to tell you that He works!!  Nothing can be a much greater joy and privelege than to see Papa at work- and to know that you and I can be a part of it!!  So no, you don't need to walk 500 miles, but Yes, you do need to step out in faith and seek His Will.  He is patiently waiting for people to test their own faith by trusting Him and stepping out with courage.  I think He is saying, "I need some people to trust Me and seek My Will so I can really show them just what I can do!  Then they will realize how blessed they can be in unexpected ways!"  As I have said, our faith is the raw material for His providence.  Think about it................

God Bless you,
Thanks for visiting and listening,
Good night,
Craig

3 comments:

  1. Hi Craig! sounds like the walk is going great. this is Karl, i met you in burlington campground in the redwoods and you made me some great oatmeal when i was starving. i'm down in monterrey right now, the ride is going great. glad to hear you made fort bragg, towns become much larger and frequent after there. I think I will be passing thru SLO on the 15th and was thinking about maybe spending a day exploring the town, getting a feel for cal poly, and such. If your daughter happened to be open to a cyclist camping in her yard or couch, I'd be very greatful. Gonna keep following your walk, you can find my pictures at twitter.com/xk4rlx and reach me at andr9290@gmail.com and 4052955275. See you down the road! - Karl

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  2. Hey how are you? Heard you have a new way to get your pack down the road. Is it purple like the one in the shed? Lol. Well I tried to brush Lucky today. Key word tried. Yeah was not to successful at that but it is a work in progress. She likes it when I pet her head and neck and the top of her back but if I get her sides or her tail she hisses at me and gets a little ticked off. She always like that? I have never noticed her not liking her tail touched before but I figured I better check with you before I did some serious investigating to see if something was up or if that is just her. Anyway things are pretty much the same here. Oh just for fun I thought I would get bronchitis. Yeah, not fun. As long as it doesn't go into pneumonia we will be good. So mom has had double duty or is that triple duty? I don't know, I up the work load instead of helping the load. Oops. Oh well it happens. She's a little grouchy but understandable. Grams hearing or lack of is getting worse, You missed Lorance Welch at 100% on grams T.V. last night. So did I, he-he. Little excitement tonight got a call from Dee-Dee who i out of town that her neighbor called her and her dogs had gotten out. Unfortunately they were out casing other animals so mom and I had to fly and go round up her 5 dogs which by the time we got there were all at the house hanging out. So we put them all in the house and made sure everyone was good. Picked up the mail and will have mom write a couple checks to pay the dentist and renner gas. Other than that all is well. Hope things are good on your end. Im off to bed.
    Love,
    Emily

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  3. Hi Craig,,,
    Hope it's going well today....
    It's a long Journey. Glad you have a new idea for less stress physically.. Be Safe Be Well
    Mary

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