The week before we left, two major events occurred. Firstly, my friend who was on the TLR Map suddenly disappeared. Secondly, we received an email from a woman who wanted to get baptized and reached out to us. We had been on this map for six years, and nobody had ever reached out to us in that manner before.
After scheduling a time to meet, we agreed to baptize her. We had never baptized anyone before, so we were nervous, but we trusted God to guide us, and we were at peace. We guided her to repentance, immersed her in the bathtub, and she received freedom. Everything went well, the kids did their thing in their rooms, and my wife and I were in unity. It was like we had been doing this for the past ten years! This experience confirmed for us that we had made the right decision.
My plan
I had meticulously planned our itinerary the week before. We were to go the State of Maine until Louisiana, then go straight to California passing through Texas. The first stop would have been at our bank, so we could’ve picked up our debit card from our US account, but two days before leaving, I woke up at 4am, wondering where the closest bank branch was and to my surprise, there wasn’t any! The only options we had were Tampa in Florida or Chicago in Illinois.
His plan
We had no choice but to change everything. We went to Montreal city where we had the opportunity to meet, for the first time, my wife’s sister. We also saw my mom, the last time we had seen her was 3 years ago and she got to see her grandchildren’s. Then we headed toward Toronto and at the last 3 hours of driving we started sending emails via the TLR map to find a home that could provide us with a roof for the night. We were excited to meet new people but also a little stressed because we had never done this, and we were little last-minute. But we decided to put our faith in God and shortly after, we had the opportunity to meet Peter family. Both of our kids really enjoyed themselves and we had the opportunity to get to know Peter and Jing.
Welcome in the USA
We left very early in the morning, trying not to wake up our hosts, and made our way towards the border. I was very nervous about crossing, even though I had done a background check, because you never know how things will go and our story just seemed so unconventional. Thankfully, God let us through, and we were so happy and relieved! We quickly headed to Joliet, Illinois to visit a bank and then started to send some emails through the TLR map.
The Church of God in Chicago
That day we went to Will and Carlos’ home, met their families and stayed there for two days. I was amazed by their boldness and dedication. Every day they had a Bible study. On the second day, they invited us to their fellowship, and we were impressed by the way the meeting was led and the fruit that came out of it. In this small apartment, there were maybe 12 to 15 people from all ages and strata of society.
People drove up to an hour to attend their fellowship, and some of them didn’t even have time to change clothes after coming back from work. They did this 2-3 times a week, and they have two other groups running simultaneously because they cannot accommodate everyone. Once per month, they all gather together.
During the meeting I attended, there was a time when everybody caught up, shared news of each other while eating, and then they had prayer. You could see the different gifts, and everyone was free to participate. After the Bible reading, people were sharing their understanding of the Word, teaching and correcting each other in love.
I remember a woman who was struggling with an issue at her work, and she was asking for advice. The person simply asked her what she thought Jesus would have done in her place and had a discussion on the Scriptures. I was stunned by the maturity of the “teacher” taking the time to show her how to find the answers and not spoon-feeding her.
When it was time to leave, God showed us that this is what a Church should look like. This is what needs to be replicated. This was the Church of God in Chicago.
Words of wisdom at the end of a monotonous road
Next stop was Omaha in Nebraska. It was a very difficult drive because it was straight, flat and nothing to see but cows and wind turbines. We were connected with Zac and Amanda.
Someone on our travel gave us a gift and since we arrived early, we decided to spend time with the kids and took them to the children’s museum. We all loved it! This was a concern of ours, we didn’t want the kids to feel rushed, but meeting people and having fellowship is sometimes demanding for them.
Zac and Amanda were refreshing, a young couple who love God and were blessed with a handsome little boy. We shared both of our experiences and testimonies. Zac gave me a piece of wisdom and I try to keep it in my heart. When you speak to someone, your words should always be for the edification of the other.
God blessed us
We left Omaha very early and from that day on, God gave us time to rest and spend time as a family. We had the opportunity to see the Grand Canyon, visit the San Diego Zoo, explore the Oceanside fishing pier, and relax at the beach. We had finally reached our destination, and for the next seven weeks, we would have the privilege of connecting with amazing people, building our character, and seeing God work in so many people’s lives and hearts.
We truly serve a wonderful God
Philippe