...With Much Tribulation... (our journey to Montreal)
As I was sitting there at the Montreal Canada airport, I was thinking about the past 9 days and our journey to Montreal. Never in a million years did I think we could ever have such a journey. Here is my story.
A friend, Sonny Wilmoth, invited Vernon and me to share our ministry in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The funny thing is Sonny did not live in Canada nor was he a member of the church he invited us to speak at. I'm guessing you are thinking how can that be. You see Sonny’s wife, of 1 year 6 months, is a Canadian citizen. Meriam was missing her family and Canada, so together they decided it would be best to move Meriam back to Canada.
Sonny had this great idea that if we help them move to Canada then we could share our testimony sermon with the church that Meriam is a member of and her brother-in-law was head elder. Now here is the part you can't miss, Sonny has MS and is in a wheelchair. Sonny is able to drive with the help of a special van designed for him.
The plan was, he would drive his van with his wife and personal belongings and Vernon and I would drive the Uhaul truck with their boxes and furniture they would put in storage in Montreal. They would fly us back to TN that following week. Because of the MS, Sonny would only be able to drive 5 to 6 hours a day. Which meant it would take us 3 to 4 days to get to Canada.
Vernon and I talked it over and we decided that this would be a nice opportunity for us not only to help a friend out but take our message of God's love and forgiveness to the people of Montreal. So we said yes we would be happy to help.
Sunday came quickly for us to leave for Waverly, TN where Sonny and Meriam lived. We were told the truck would be packed by the church members and would be ready to go. We would leave shortly after we arrived on Sunday and start the first 5 to 6 hours of driving. Our daughter Soñée would drive us there in our car and take the car back home. Everything seemed to be in place.
However, when we arrived nothing was in place. The truck was not all packed and Meriam and Sonny were not even there. They left us a note on the front door that they had gone to Wal-Mart but the door was open. When we opened the door we were shocked. They had not finished packing the house. The kitchen had not been packed at all and their bedroom was not finished. Needless to say we were not happy.
Two older men from the Lobelville church had come to help put the bed on the truck. Meriam and Sonny finally came home. You will never guess what Meriam was carrying. Groceries. You read it right, groceries. She went right to the unpacked kitchen and started cooking. When we asked what needed to be done we were told not to worry, to relax and come eat and sit.
By now I am needing to pray and ask God for patience. Three hours later Vernon and I came to the conclusion after being told many, many times to take it easy, they just did not know what they were doing. So we took charge. We got their room done and what she needed from the kitchen.
Meanwhile a lady from the church came to clean the kitchen. Meriam continued to cook while the lady tried to clean. We finally had to tell Meriam she had to stop cooking and pack.
It was now 6pm. We knew we would not be leaving that day. By 9pm it as clear we were not going anywhere.
A couple from the church that Vernon and I knew suggested we get a motel for the night. We found one close by, booked two rooms, and Vernon and I headed to the motel with our friends. Sonny and Meriam finally got to the motel around 11:30 pm.
We found out in the morning we had to go back to the house because Meriam still had to finish the kitchen. By now Vernon and I are thinking God is testing us. I can tell you, I was not passing the test. Much prayer was needed on my part.
By 12:10 pm that Monday we finally were ready to go. That day we only drove 4 hours. So we are now a whole day behind our schedule. We found a hotel and rested for the night. Vernon and I were praying we could get an early start the next day.
Until next week for more of the story...
