As we were driving along in “no man’s land” Sunday afternoon, we saw there was some sort of situation coming up. I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures as we went by. What was it? Firefighters finishing up with an RV that had burned completely and was still smoking. Dad thought it had likely happened that morning.

We are grateful for the Lord’s protection over those thousands of miles! Now that we’re back at home, we’re just catching up and settling back in .

Sarah

“For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me” (Psalms 31:3).

But we’ll tackle that tomorrow, after a night’s sleep (hopefully the 1/3 that didn’t sleep well will tonight, and the other 2/3s won’t experience what the 1/3 did!).

It’s amazing how long it took to drive through New Mexico today! We entered Colorado mid-afternoon. It was a pretty quiet driving day, without too much “excitement.” We have stopped for the night in western Kansas, and we only have six and a half more hours to go tomorrow.

We saw lots of mountains (but I know that will no longer be the case!) and several herds of antelope. Plus, we noticed many things are now brown! Anna remarked that she had forgotten how brown everything will be at home. After 6 weeks away and being on the West Coast where many things were green, brown will be a bit of a shock. We’re back to winter for a little while too .

Sarah for the rest

Dad getting a great neck rub (by Joseph).

“God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor 1:9).

On this trip, we’ve been blessed by several very special gifts and notes from children.

Marina, thank you for the sugar cookies, your note, and your gift! We were very blessed by all. If you read this, we'd love for you to e-mail us the recipe. It'll be a great "A Taste on the Road" recipe.

Lots of notes and special gifts from missionary children hand-delivered by their mom who happened to be up in the states!

Another precious note and gift!

Another sweet note.

“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).

After a good night’s sleep for 2/3 of the family, we headed out around 7:45. It’s a sunny day as we drive across New Mexico. The scenery is very interesting: lots of scrub vegetation, rugged red rock faces, small mountains, and patches of snow.

As we motor down the interstate, some are doing school, others are on their computers, one is driving (Dad!), and another is studying.

Our goal is to make it to Colorado Springs or Limon tonight. Thank you for praying for us! We are very grateful.

Sarah

“Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast” (Psalms 36:6).

Here it is 11 p.m., and we’re driving an hour down the road to spend the night in Winslow, Arizona to get a head start on our 20 hour drive home. It’s hard to believe that we finished our 21st and final stop on this trip. Yes, it’s true, we’re

Homeward Bound!

More later.

Sarah for the rest

“But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire” (1 Thess. 2:17).

It’s hard to believe we just finished our sixth weekend conference in a row. The last six weeks have been a bit of a blur, although the pictures and blog posts help to document everywhere we’ve been! In a way, it seems like a long time since we were home, but yet, the time has gone so quickly, it doesn’t seem like that.

We arrived in Fallbrook Thursday afternoon. We had a quiet afternoon/evening, resting and preparing for the weekend. At that point, we discovered an issue with a pipe going to one of our tanks, so Friday morning, Dad, Joseph, and the coordinator’s son (who kindly drove them and another time let us borrow his truck) went to get the parts needed.

By the afternoon, the repair was made, and we were preparing to set up. I think for the most part set up has gone quite smoothly after so much practice! This weekend, four families graciously provided meals for us–thank you!

Jesse setting up Friday.

We were talking about this being our last weekend set up (on this trip of course), and the girls posed for a set up picture.

The weather was almost too good to be true. Crisp, blue skies, temperatures in the 70’s, green grass, and blooming flowers. This was like late spring in Kansas, not winter.

I thought this was a neat situation. The lady on the right was explaining about the Preparing Sons book and encouraging the other lady on it!

Back to the conference: hearts were again open, hungry, and receptive. Dad and Mom had many parents come up to them to discuss things shared and their own personal situation. Each of us children also had opportunities to talk and encourage others as well. The weekends seem to fly by!

Then, Dad preached for a small fellowship this morning. We were supposed to have met at the local water plant’s meeting room, but apparently the room was given to someone else, so a new location was secured: a pavilion at the local community center. Chairs were set up, and church was begun under the small shelter. It was a wonderful time of singing, preaching, and talking afterward. We were very blessed by the friendship and warmth of those attending—they made us feel very welcome!

Sarah for the rest

“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8).

Sorry we didn’t do a post yesterday! We are on our way to Flagstaff at the moment, after another wonderful weekend conference. The Lord has done amazing things on this trip, and it’s been such an incredible blessing.

Flagstaff, which is our last stop, had been re-scheduled because of a snow storm back in January. The weather promises to be great tomorrow.

It’s a sunny day as we travel across part of the Mojave Desert.

Here are two pictures–more pictures later with a full report!

Sarah for the rest

Friday evening.

John and Anna giving a session together.

“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).

Tuesday morning, after a short night of sleep, we drove to the ferry terminal, arriving a little after 6 a.m., for the 7 o’clock ferry.

We had a plan. Everyone except Mary and I was going to bundle up to go out on deck, watching the sun rise, and observing the beautiful view. After the bus was parked, we headed up several floors to the passenger area. It was a cold, brisk morning, but the family enjoyed their time out on the deck while Mary and I stayed inside the passenger areas to keep warm and explore.

Family stayed close to the wall out of the wind.

It had been a misty morning, but it cleared up after awhile.

The sun rise

The narrow strait we just sailed through.

See the tiny lighthouse?

There were many little islands scattered across the water.

A sea gull enjoying a free ride by soaring in the wind, being pushed up as the ferry moves swiftly through the water.

In the meantime, after exploring the inside for a bit, Mary and I looked for a place to sit with a view out the side. We decided to try to find a place near the front for a better view, so at Christopher’s suggestion, we purchased something from the cafe and found a wonderful area to sit.

Part way through our ride, we saw “something” we were hoping to see, “something” that was even mentioned we might see as a blog comment.

The Orcas (killer whales) were surfacing and spouting in unison! One man who has ridden the ferry three times every month for years said he has never seen them before. We felt blessed to see them on our one day-light ride.

ALL of the family saw them! It was an incredible few moments of seeing God’s amazing creatures.

“And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:21).

It seemed almost like a dream to be on Vancouver Island. We are grateful to the family who provided the invitation and then actually brought us over. Thank you!

This conference was held at the Saanich Fairgrounds, and the facility worked out great! Set up went smoothly, and even the coordinator’s children cheerfully pitched in to set up the chairs.

It was exciting to see the people the Lord brought to the conference. They were open to the message, and then from the discussions they had with Dad and Mom after the sessions, they seemed to have taken it to heart and be hungry for the Lord’s working. One mom e-mailed us today listing several benefits her family was already experiencing from the conference including a positive attitude change in her son!

Since we often do several songs at the end of Keeping Hearts, the young people are released for the session early so they can listen!

The guys talking after tear down Monday night.

“He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber” (Psalms 121:3).

We had the blessing of sharing through music, testimony, and preaching Sunday evening in a little town called Sidney (not Australia!), or Sidney by the sea. We felt extremely welcome, and people were grateful we came.

The church is comprised of many elderly, so we felt right at home! We enjoyed talking with people before and after the service. It is such a joy to be able to share!

Jesse unloading things Sunday afternoon.

Pluckin' on her fiddle.

You wouldn't have known she was feeling so poorly! Way to go, Mary!

Daddy preaching.

The lady with the hat used to be a horseback lady preacher in her younger days, and the other lady was from Poland!

“I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word” (Psalms 119:16).

We aren’t in Canada too often, so when we are, it’s a special treat. This time, our weekend conference was just barely over the border, but if you’ve been reading the posts, you’ll see we also went to Vancouver Island (which is where we are currently).

Friday set up went well, and before we knew it, dinner had arrived. Our coordinator had fixed a delicious dinner and surprised us with a special dessert from Dairy Queen.

Anna started with a cold that hit her voice about Wednesday, and she was being careful not to talk much to save it for singing Friday evening. It was amazing listening to her sing: you never would have guessed she had any voice problems! I remember when we were doing the Red Deer, Alberta convention, the same thing happened, and her voice sounded crystal clear—truly an answer to prayer. Music went pretty smoothly, except for twice when an unnamed individual bumped the microphone which caused a loud clunk and those singing jumped.

Saturday morning dawned a sunny day, a treat after so many rainy ones! The Lord brought many families to the conference and the day went by in a whirl. One family had driven from over 6 hours north to come, and they had a neat testimony on how the Lord moved them up from California.

The book tables were swamped almost the entire day, so we kept extremely busy. We had encouraged people to make the purchases earlier on so that we could pack up since we had a ferry deadline. Hearts were open to the message shared (although the message and things shared were new to many of the families), and we pray the Lord will bring lasting fruit.

We don’t say this lightly, but we really believe that this trip has had so much more fruit than other trips, and we feel this is a result of all the prayer. We know specifically many who are praying; we are so grateful. One young man told John recently that he had felt strongly prompted to pray for us Thursday night, and that very night John had an opportunity to talk to a young man who was struggling (an understatement).

John and Anna gave the Unity session this weekend.

We were too busy this weekend to take many pictures, but we still managed to squeeze in some!

The coordinator's family brought in quite a few chairs, since the church didn't have the # that was needed.

Mom with the coordinator

We just received a testimony e-mail from our coordinator, and they shared from the e-mails they are already receiving that lives were truly changed and young people have been saved. It makes us almost weep with joy! Praise the Lord!

Sarah

”… but I desire fruit that may abound to your account” (Philippians 4:17).

We are so grateful for your prayers thus far on our journey; we have truly felt them. We are coming once again with a prayer request. One family member (Mary) has come down with a bad flu/cold. It hit her hard, and we know when one person has something, the rest are very susceptible to catching it. Please pray for the Lord’s healing on Mary, and that He would somehow protect the rest of us, and if we do get it, that it would be a milder version. It’s hard when speaking/ministering to be sick; she did such a good job tonight even when she wasn’t feeling well.

Thank you! We’ll keep you updated!

Sarah for the rest

“And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick” (Luke 5:31).

We had the unique experience and privilege of riding the ferry to cross over to Vancouver Island yesterday evening right after the conference. We hurried to pack up after a whirlwind conference (a report on a great conference later) to make a 7 p.m. ferry. Arriving around 5:30, we had family Bible time in the bus while we waited to board.

Sarah for the rest

Driving down the plankway to the ferry.

This is where everyone parks on the ferry. We were the first in our lane, so we drove right to the end, and it was perfect for the best view as we docked at the end.

We all wanted to go out on deck, so we walked up several floors to the outer deck. Inside the passenger area, it was amazing how many people were milling around: eating, working on their computers, sleeping, talking, and more. Yet, as soon as we stepped outside, we had almost the entire deck to ourselves. I guess the Canadians prefer to be inside rather than outside, or maybe it's just the tourists who enjoy being on the deck!

Christopher and Joseph on deck, with the lights of the shoreline behind them.

Three younger Maxwell guys.

The family on deck...

After a few minutes outside, several of us opted to go back to the bus (one had a cold), while the boys and Mom spent much of the rest of the ride outside. For those of us down in Uriah, it was a very interesting feeling as the boat occasionally turned and Uriah would lean.

Christopher took this one as another ferry passed.

I thought this was a neat picture as I walked up to the bus after being up on deck.

As the boys were coming back to the boys, they received an invitation to go into the "crew only" section right near the bus. They also had a good chat with a crew member who was up on deck as they were going through a strait.

The doors opening up as we came close to the shore.

Watching the shore come closer--it was a fascinating experience. There was a little group of people in front of our bus waiting to dis-embark on foot.

Waiting for the pedestrians to leave the roadway before the vehicles were released to dis-embark.

“I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water” (Isaiah 41:18)

Praise the Lord … Around 2 a.m., a tired group of Maxwells went into the border office and waited while the bus was thoroughly searched, and I did some paperwork (to bring the books and things in). The paperwork went smoothly (thanks Jesse and Anna for all your help), and we were released to continue. We are now parked at the church and ready to get some rest.

We are so excited about this weekend’s conference here in Abbotsford, BC (outside of Vancouver).

Sarah

“I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations” (Psalms 89:1).