A Miserable Day of Travel

As many of your know, yesterday we were scheduled to begin our trek to SE Asia for 2 weeks. Our first flight from Orlando to NYC was scheduled to leave at 2PM. We had boarded the plane and were ready to get this show on the road when the captain made the first of many announcements to the passengers. Apparently there was rain around the NYC area, mainly in New Jersey, that was keeping planes from flying. We were grounded for our first delay of 1 hour. Sitting on the plane was miserable. It was hot (the high outside was 98 degrees). After that hour had passed we were notified that the ground rule or whatnot had been lifted and we would begin taxiing down the runway within the hour.





This was how we felt after being on the plane for so long. It was so hot because they were trying to conserve fuel by using as little A/C as possible.


AGAIN, another announcement was made. This time the plane had some mechanical problems that needed to be addressed... and all the while a storm was about to pass through Orlando so due to lightning we would not be able to take off. By the time the storm had passed and the mechanical problem had been fixed we were running too low on fuel so we had to head back to the gate to refuel.




We are in the plane for 6 hours.


After 6 hours on the plane and 0 time in the air, we were all asked to get off the plane with out belongings. The airport was packed!!! There were people everywhere, with no planes coming or going. We were some of the few passengers that had a connecting flight in NYC. We had to make it from LGA to JFK in New York City for an 11PM flight to Dubai. We were going to miss this flight! My sister Bonnie, who was planning to go on the trip with us, was already in NYC waiting for us. We were calling back and forth filling her in. Sadly, the next available flight to Dubai wasn't going to be until Tuesday! What a mess!

We had a decision to make and had to make it by 10PM. The tickets for the next flight to Dubai were going to be about $1000 extra per person :( It was the craziest night imaginable. Bonnie ended up flying home to Mexico since she would be in NYC for at least 2 days before we arrived. It was just too much to handle!

We decided to book a flight for Monday (today) to NYC and take the Tuesday flight to Dubai and trust that the Lord would provide the money we need. We ended up coming home last night to think and pray about what to do. Believe me, it was a physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining day. We know that the Lord is supreme in all things and that His ways are perfect. We are trusting that everything that happens is the way He wants it, even if it is stressful and not the way we were expecting.


So here we are.... day 2 of our trip and we are home in Orlando. We are planning to head to the airport in a few hours and fly to NYC. We will stay in NYC tonight and fly to Dubai tomorrow morning. This is "our" plan at least. We know He may have something else and mind.

Please keep us in your prayers! We desire a safe and smooth journey. He is faithful and loving, and we are trusting that although His ways are higher than our own, He is in control and knows what is best.

We appreciate your prayers and encouragement during this time. We love you guys!!

The Heidelberg Catechism

I am so encouraged by this and I pray you find encouragement in it as well.

What is thy only comfort in life and death?

That I with body and soul, both in life and death,am not my own,but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ;who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins,and delivered me from all the power of the devil;and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head;yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.

City Church Student Ministry Retreat

In January, City Church Orlando launched it's Student Ministry. Roy and I have joined the team of volunteers and have been incredibly blessed by these middle school and high school students. It has been so wonderful to get to know them, love on and encourage them. This weekend we headed to Daytona Beach for a retreat and had a BLAST! We spent many hours on the beach soaking up rays, playing bocce ball, volleyball and football, having a sandcastle building contest, etc. We had tons of junk food and played lots of fun games... along with a "Worst Dance Moves" competition that got pretty intense :) It was a wonderful time for the 8 students and 5 leaders who were there. We had a few talks about Jacob and Leah and their desire for approval. It was wonderful for us all to search our hearts and begin to deal with our idol of approval. Oh how the Father loves us and gives us his complete approval. Why, then, do we continue to seek to earn not only His favor, but the favor of others? Please continue to pray for these students, that they would grow in the knowledge, wisdom, and love of the Father, and be among the next generation of Christian leaders.

Meeting Maggie!

Maggie Claire McDaniel

Our niece Maggie is finally here! She was welcomed to the world on Tuesday, July 13 at 4:18 PM central time. She was 8 lbs 5 oz and 21.5 inches long. Congratulations, Tommy and Amy!

Roy's Parents Came to Visit!

I realized I never posted pictures of when Roy's parents came to visit us at the beginning of last month :( Shame on me! We had such a great time with them and it was the first time they had come to Orlando since they helped us move in a year ago. So much has changed since then and it was nice to be able to show them around the area, since we actually knew where things were this time.

We went on an airboat ride of Lake Jessup, which is the most alligator populated lake in Florida, but sadly it was too hot for the alligators to make an appearance. That same afternoon we went down to the "tourist" part of Orlando near Disney and went to Downtown Disney to look around and had some delicious ice-cream. It was so incredibly hot! We also spent one afternoon at New Smyrna Beach and had some yummy seafood. All in all it was a wonderful weekend!!

So I've become a book worm...

(Becky speaking)
So I used to get paid for "reading" growing up. My mother is a genius and she got my sister and me all excited about reading by giving us a penny for each page we read. We would tally up the amount of pages read at the end of each book and that became a way for us to make a little bit of pocket change. It was wonderful and it did exactly what my mom had hoped it would. Bonnie and I both love to read now and no one is paying us :) I don't read fast and hardly am able to retain much of what I read (this tragically has made me a horrible test taker) but I enjoy books. I have toyed with the idea of writing children's books because my mind is constantly racing with the most clever (or at least in my opinion) ideas! I just can't sit still enough to transfer my thoughts to paper. Anyway, so I love to read now and when Roy and I were dating he caught on to reading as well ( I always remind him that he started reading once he met me. haha) I have read more since I got married than I ever have before and right now and working my way through 4 books. Thankfully they aren't all fiction where I am constantly getting the story lines mixed up. These books are quite easy to keep separate.

If you are looking for some good reads, here are a few books that are currently on my night stand.

"A Praying Life" by Paul Miller

This book came HIGHLY recommended. A lady from our church kindly purchased this book for me and Roy and I read a few chapters together at night each week. It is totally transforming the way we view prayer. It's a great read for sure!


"So Long Insecurity" by Beth Moore

The title of this book alone drove me to want to read it. I am working my way through it fairly quickly since I am borrowing it from the public library :) My mom loves Beth Moore, but this is the first book I have read by her. It is changing my life. I have struggled with insecurity for years and this book is helping me dig to the root of this heart issue, hopefully bringing restoration and peace.


"Passion of Christ" by John Piper

John Piper is a Baptist pastor in Minneapolis and since getting exposure to his preaching (check it out at http://www.desiringgod.org ) I have become a huge fan. This book tells 50 reasons why Jesus came to die... why He had to go to the cross and suffer to bring redemption to lost and dying people.



"Tramp for the Lord" by Corrie ten Boom

I first read "The Hiding Place" by CTB a few years ago which tells her personal story of hiding Jews in her family's watch repair shop, only to have those Jews found the Corrie and her family shipped off to a concentration camp. Why did Jesus allow her to suffer so badly in this capacity? The Gospel was preached and many lives were spared! Corrie shared the Gospel with many Jews who proclaimed Jesus as Lord before their brutal deaths. This second books tells many of her remarkable stories of how the Lord used her before and after the concentration camp.