After we left Alabama and were on our way to San Antonio, I was being a little fearful about this whole journey and Dennis asked me, “What would it take for you to believe you’re on the right path? What sign could God give to prove it to you?” I couldn’t really answer that but I must say our arrival into San Antonio that night was quite convincing. We drove into San Antonio right at midnight on New Year’s Eve...fireworks were going off everywhere, including right over Interstate 10 as evidenced by the fireworks' debris falling on our van! Since it’s so flat out here (and apparently they don’t have the same firework laws as in the northeast), you could see fireworks for miles and miles! It was truly amazing! Perhaps it was all a coincidence but either way, I’ll never forget our “welcome” to San Antonio!
As far as our friends we stayed with --- I thank the LORD for their kind hearts and willingness to open their home to others. These guys were already in hospitality mode: They had the wife's grandmother and 3 siblings live with them for an entire year and then, they had a co-worker going through a divorce stay with them for a few months. So, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to stay with a family who was used to having their privacy invaded. :) We know that having a family of 5 stay with you cannot be easy breezy, but we are so grateful that the LORD has made this couple so laidback and welcoming --- we truly did feel at home while there.
While in San Antonio, we made a short visit to the Alamo and the RiverWalk. This was more exciting for me since I had never been to Texas, but Dennis was in San Antonio for basic training in 1998. Here's a photo of the RiverWalk from the web:
Ministry-wise, Dennis was able to visit numerous churches, hand out tracts, talk to people on the street and engage in two different small groups from area churches. I helped take care of the little girl where we were staying to help the family save money on daycare costs. Hannah loved having a little girl to play with!
I also have to mention how gracious our friends were regarding Josiah’s cat allergy. They have a cat and we figured we’d make it work, but after a few days there, Josiah was having asthma-like symptoms to where we tried to keep him outside as much as possible. Our friends asked around to see if anyone they knew could keep their cat and a sweet couple from their church small group offered to keep him while we were there! That was so kind of everyone to do that for Josiah and we never would have expected that! He was fine once the cat wasn’t in the home and we could vacuum up most of the hair/dander.
We enjoyed our 2 months in San Antonio and despite feeling at home with our friends; we did not want to overstay our welcome (Proverbs 25:17). Back when we arrived in Texas, Dennis felt it was time to get a job as a type of tent-making venture so we would not be a burden to anyone (see Acts 18:32 & 2 Thessalonians 3:8). After he looked into various jobs, the first solid offer he received was in his trade at a place we had never heard of before coming to Texas...Laredo. Not long after we arrived in Texas, Dennis looked on a map at all the airports in the U.S. that bordered Mexico and saw Laredo International. Mexico was an area where he had often talked about doing mission work so we were intrigued by the area despite being told that it wasn’t a place we’d want to go --- which we didn’t let deter us.
So, Dennis accepted a position with RVA (an air traffic control contract company) working at Laredo International Airport; which finally brings us to the present location of our travels!
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