Travel Journal : Day #1

Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Destination: Knoxville, TN
This morning I got up at 6am (after going to bed at 1:30 am) and packed for a trip to Knoxville, TN. Today was the first day of my trip to Memphis, TN for the Annual Institute of Missions at Eastside Baptist Church. As the sun came up and the rain started to fall I traveled through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, and into Tennessee. Every once in a while during the trip, the rain would clear and I would get a look at the Blue Ridge Mountains that I was driving between. The magnificence of God's creation was breathtaking.
The first 5 hours I drove without stopping. What do you do on a long drive? I listened to music, Adventures in Oddesey stories, more music, sang to myself without music, started to get sleepy, listened to more music, sang to myself again, listened to preaching, sang even louder and more off key and finally decided I had better stop for lunch. After lunch I passed through the beautiful Shennandoah valley. Two hours into the drive again I started to feel sleepy...only 7 more hours to go. Every exit I passed I said, "I'll stop at the next one for gas and coffee"... Finally, an hour and a half later I pulled off at an exit in Virginia that had 6 differant gas stations.
After fueling up, I turned around to see some familiar faces in the parking lot. "Hey, HEY!!!", I said. They turned around to look and guess who it was. Teressa Smith and her children Matthew & Jessicca and her grandson. They had been my friends for years. We lived over the hill from eachother, stamped together, and had a wonderful friendship. After a few years she had to move back home to Tenessee. It was so good to see my dear friends. They were on thier way home from traveling and here we were stopped at the same gas station.
As I drove away from that happy reunion, God's sovereign power fathomed my mind. It was only the Lord that had brought us together. Out of all the exits that I could have gotten off of, out of all the gas stations I could have gone to on that exit.... To think that I could have gone to the gas station across the road and we would have never seen eachother, or even known that we were at the same place. God's providence is astounding!!!!
Well, after 12 hours, I finally reached my hotel at 7pm. My eyes hurt from driving, but I checked in slapped some deoderant and a new shirt on and off to church I went. Grace Bible Baptist Church is just 20 minutes from where I am staying. I walked in late of course, but was greeted by friendly faces. The people were welcoming, the singing was uplifting to His holy name, and the preaching was sharp as a sword. The pastor spoke on the sin of lying. Many teens and adults went forward to obey God's Word by being truthful. What a great blessing!
By 9pm I was starving so I found the closest restaraunt to the hotel and ordered food to go. While waiting for my food I was able to witness to Giovonni (a waiter from Guatamala). He talked about how worldly relationships and love come and go. What a great opportunity it was for me to share of God's everlasting love for Him by sending Christ to die for his sin. He told me he goes to a Baptist Church. I left a salvation tract with him since he did not clearly have eternal security.
While eating supper in my room at 10 pm, reminisced over all that the Lord had done during my day - traveling safety, meeting Teressa, attending a great church, and allowing me to witness to Giovanni - What a great day! What a great God I serve! I asked the Lord to allow everyday of this 3 week-long trip to be just as great.