Feels like Home…in Gilbert

July 5 & 6 – Saturday, Sunday – (Hot, 100’s, Dry)

We are reading Nehemiah as I said before and decided today would be our prayer and fast day. As a family we would pray all day for all the people we had met and for the church. We also planned a little detour from our itinerary. We need some minor repairs done on the motorhome. It is all warranty work, but while we have the time I am also doing an oil change and general maintenance. I booked the work to be done in Mesa, Arizona about 60 miles south of Phoenix. We have a friend that lives near there in Gilbert, Az. She was a friend of dad’s and we thought we might land there for a day. I called grannie Joyce (this is what my kids call her due to the long time friendship). She was there and allowed us to stay the night. On the way there, one major event happened…it got hotter and hotter! We were leaving the comfortable 80’s and 90’s for the dry hot 100’s. Just last week they hit 114 with a humidity level of 3%. No more driving with the windows down. A/C was a necessity. You think I am joking? Check out the temp at 1:00pm on a cool day.

As we drove, we prayed. First Isaiah prayed, then Ethan, then Therese then me. We rotated several times before entering Gilbert. I noticed as we entered the Phoenix area that it seemed to be under construction. Roads were brand new. I mean 4 lane highways. They would go for a distance then just end when the buildings ended. After the “road closed” sign you would see desert being converted. As new buildings were built, the roads would be completed for another stretch of desert. In fact my GPS was practically useless because the roads did not show up. It was interesting to watch as we traveled on open desert according to the GPS then it would begin navigating as we hit roads that it knew about.

We met at new Dick’s sporting goods store since we needed a couple of things for our whitewater trip coming up. When we arrived in Gilbert and exited the motorhome to go into Dick’s, it hit us…the heat. No matter what people say about dry heat being better than humid heat, it is still hot. Very hot. Like smack you in the face hot. We bought our gear then met up with Joyce. She drove us back to her place where the boys crashed on the sofas in front of the TV and my wife slept on the couch. I was trying to ge the A/C working in the RV but could not. No 20amp service. I decided to find a campground. As it turns out the campground was 1 mile from the repair shop. Joyce made us a home cooked meal in a real home. It was a welcomed resting place. We chatted for a while and retired for the night.

July 6 – Sunday (Hot, Dry)

Today Joyce and I took the motorhome to the RV Park, while Therese did wash. The kids were watching TV in the morning. I was not going to church service today but did read more of Nehemiah to prepare for sharing. When Joyce and I returned, I began to blog and Therese finished laundry. We all sat down at the table and began to talk about being born-again and how it differs from religion. Joyce being a reformed catholic was trying to understand how a Jew whom believed in God but unrepented and believing not in Jesus could go to hell. It boiled down to good works being the prerequisite for salvation.

Later in the evening Joyce dropped us off at the RV Park and the boys and I went swimming. It was 8:00pm, the sun was down and it was still in the 90’s. The water in the pool was like bath water. While the kids prayed, I met Jim, a Veitnam war vet. He was heading in for a lap-band operation next week. Turns out he is a believer. I told him I would pray for him. The boys and I returned and we all retired…in the comfort of A/C.