The first part of our tour is over

We are thankful to God for His wonderful Grace towards us! I can hardly believe we’re back!

We are grateful to the Lord for protection and blessings.

Between Denver and Tennessee, Marie got sick for a week, and got better practically overnight! So, we could continue our trip. We drove 9,000 miles in 7 weeks, in our 1997 Accord (224,000 miles on it now). Our transmission broke down about a third way through, but found a great deal on craigslist, right in Denver, and replaced it! God protected us from thieves and from big towing bills when transmission went out (we were able to get to Denver from Wyoming); He also protected us from falling asleep on the way, and countless other dangers.

We got pulled over 3 times but didn’t get any tickets, nor got into accidents while driving. We spent 12 nights in the car, (praise God for Walmart!) 5 nights in hotels, the rest in people’s homes. We got to spend our first Thanksgiving Day together in Williamsburg and Jamestown, Virginia. We met many great men of God and learned lots from them. 

Lord willing, we are planning to tour South California after the holidays. We’ll keep you posted. 

May your life be a sweet savor unto the Lord!

Texas and the drive through the wilderness

On our way from Pensacola, we HAD to stop in Houston, where currently live missionaries from Bolgaria, the Marinov family. It was such a blessing! Converted from Marxist ideology to the Gospel of Christ, Bojidar Marinov understands the issues we, the Christians of the West are facing. Also, us immigrants from the former Soviet Bloc countries. Bojidar translated many books into his native tongue, books that provide real answers from God’s Word, to society in ruins after a century of Communism. http://www.bulgarianreformation.org/newsite2/index.php

Driving is dull in Texas, straight roads don’t offer much variety. :) At least the speed limit is acceptable. :)

These Saguarro cacti live up to 200 years old, and weigh many tons, and grow up to 50 feet tall!!

Sunset and the cool street name, hopefully the people that live there are living up to it! :)

Grace Community Church in S. California 

We had the privilege to hear the college choir and symphonic orchestra sing and play great hymns, and Handel’s work among them – Hallelujah chorus! Praise be to God!!!

On the road to Sacramento, seems like the two cities are a mile apart judging by this sign Sometimes things in life are different than they appear at first glance. Ignorance is not bliss. :)

Prickly pear cactus near a gas station:

Thank you for praying for us! God has been so good to us on this journey!! The first part of the journey is over, but there is so much more to share! We'll post a more detailed reflection on it shortly. Until then, may God richly bless you!

Florida

Our friend Eric Hovind is continuing his father’s ministry speaking about creation and the Creator all across the country. We had the privilege to see how Creation Today (formerly Creation Science Evangelism) operates from the inside. J Please pray for brother Kent Hovind, who is locked up unjustly for almost 5 years now, and has 3.5 more long years to go. It is heartbreaking to see how in a free country, a man of character would be sitting in prison for speaking boldly the Truth… To see the theme park unused and deteriorating… May God work on us here, and motivate us to be more active for Him with our freedom, and work on Mr. Hovind and through him there in prison. He is Sovereign over all things and knows how to turn evil for our good. Glory to God!

Creation Today’s website: http://creationtoday.com/

Here is the website to find out more about Kent Hovind and address where to send a letter. If you have been blessed by brother Hovind, by his DVDs, I urge you to write him a letter. (By mail, no email)

(http://www.kenthovindblog.com/?page_id=391)

Here are the free resources that anyone can download or listen online:

http://freehovind.com/index

In Pensacola, we had another treat, met Daniel (http://coast2coast4christ.com/) who traveled the whole USA from Maine to California by foot preaching the Gospel where he went!!! It took him 2 years to do that!!! He works for CSE (or Creation Today). Our seven week trip by car didn’t seem that long and exhausting after all compared with Daniel!!! J

There is a great Christian family business in Pensacola, which should replace Starbucks, called “Drowsy Poet”. They serve fresh coffee and buy beans from missionaries and support missions with their profits! Here is the website: http://drowsypoetcoffee.com/media:20218

In Pensacola there is a great ministry that we didn’t even know about, which does good work for Christ. Mt Zion Bible Church (http://www.chapellibrary.org/) is a true center for spreading the Gospel of Truth! They print and distribute select Christian literature (mainly writings of the Puritans) for free! We got a box full of tracts, pamphlets and booklets of Reformed classics! It’s a gold mine for college ministries, students who can’t afford to buy expensive tracts! Even resources in other languages!

North Carolina

The Lord has been so good to us! We were happy to spend a night in the home of pastor Scott Brown, after visiting and having fellowship with the congregation. National Center for Family-Integrated Churches (http://www.ncfic.org/) is a great resource.

The Horn family, at whose home there is a weekly study of the 1689 Baptist Confession, is a good example in hospitality and are good bereans.

Marie and I tried the high swing that is in the living room in the Brown home. This short visit made many good impressions on us, especially the active men in the congregation. It is so rare to see that!

On the way we saw signs on the freeway about Billy Graham visitor center, so we turned and visited the museum and the home where he grew up.

Cotton in its natural form, growing on the fields!

Washington DC and Virginia

On Friday, Nov 18, we arrived to Virginia, where we spent the night before exploring the capital of the nation -- Washington, DC. Here are some of the places we visited between Saturday and Tuesday, before heading further south.

On Saturday, to get to the busy DC, we got to ride in United States Metro:) That reminded us of Ukraine and Russia, where many people heavily rely on public transportation.

Upon getting to DC, first place we visited was the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (http://www.ushmm.org/) and it took several hours, until the closing, to go through it -- and we still did not get to see everything. There was so much to see/read, hear, watch...  (we were not allowed to take any photos but there are plenty online). We were shaken up by some of the things we learned about the pre-, during and post- events of the Holocaust. The most striking thing we learned was that Hitler's initial plan was to get rid of the Jews by migrating them, but only 2-3 small nations took them in; MOST of the world turned their backs on these people. Thus, Hitler's Final Solution -- the genocide. In a sense, the whole world partook in this horrible event. Can such a thing happen today? Ask history about the power of Nazi propaganda, and study the times.

The next day, we went to American Museum of Natural History (http://www.amnh.org/), where, of course, the religion of evolution brainwashes millions of visitors. Hearing that we're descending from apes, that is just laughable. But many kids, which we saw there, don't know better. There was, of course, much interesting information about the world God has made. A couple of days prior, we read Jesus' saying that Jonah was in the belly of a WHALE (Matthew 12:40), and seeing the whale hanging off the ceiling....I can see that as possible :)

Another place was the National Archives (http://www.archives.gov/nae/). Seeing Magna Carta, and the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and The Bill of Rights -- was fascinating.
Also, we visited the National Portrait Gallery (http://www.npg.si.edu/).

On the third -- and the last -- day in DC, we visited National Museum of American History (http://americanhistory.si.edu/), where we got to see a strikingly godless perspective of this Nation's history. A man. That's what it's centered on. On the bright side, it was nice to see some of the things presidents and first ladies wore, used, thought about, and so forth. History is interesting. Majority of these historical places are created through the eyes of Smithsonian Institution (http://www.si.edu/), thus the educational theme is carried all throughout.

See the difference from the simple and elaborate china of different first ladies. Mrs Washington and Mrs Adams. :)

On Sunday, we went to a small local church. The sight of hundreds of seats, all empty was depressing. There were the pastor, another man, 3 kids and 5 women, most of them widows. We learned that their members were dying out. What a sad picture. A church without youth and kids, is without future. Psalm 127 is a must read for modern churches. (this paragraph by Vik).

On Tuesday morning, we left the DC and headed to The National Museum of the Marine Corps (http://www.usmcmuseum.com/index.asp). There, we saw this country's marines history, from the beginning to present. Many wax figures, displays, timelines, and such were displayed. [and the place is soon to expand!]. The comical part was getting ID'ed by the security because we were in the car for a while, upon arriving to the site, prior to coming in; after getting our information down, they apologized and explained that they did that due to the terrorism threats in present day.

On Thanksgiving eve, by God's providence, going just to see the Atlantic Ocean, we unexpectedly ended up in Williamsburg; and seeing signs for the Historic James Towne, Virginia, we KNEW that's where we are going to spend the following day!

The first Lighthouse built by the newly formed government of the USA, in 1792, was our next stop (http://www.apva.org/CapeHenryLighthouse/). There, we got to walk on the shore of where the first English settlers arrived to what today is United States.

From there, we wandered down the shore to Virginia beach. The water is cold, but the view is breathtaking (especially the sunset!).

Thank you and have a good night.

PS: Vik finally got his long awaited haircut!

Tennessee

We spent a whole week in Tennesee, at the Botkins' place. It was a great blessing to talk to this amazing family. We attended the church meeting on Sunday and met many like minded families. David told us about many things relating to Christians and the Second Amendment. It's fascinating to study the history of war and to figure out what is the biblical Christians' attitude and position. Mr. Jeff Botkin and his wife, answered many of our questions about raising children and discussed other relevant topics.

Marie was gargling and sleeping most of the time, trying to beat a bad sore throat with her immune system alone (plus vitamins). :) Thank God, that He created the human body with amazing abilities to fight germs! After Tennessee, we headed toward the Nation's capital, cutting a few destinations off the list (Chicago, Niagara, NY and Boston). Time flies!

Thanks for praying for us!

Denver, Colorado 2

Sorry for delay. :)

We got to spend time with the Roach family. They were such an inspiration. Also, the large facilities of Focus on the Family, down in Colorado Springs, and stumbled on their bookstore. :)

Also, we visited the Columbine High School Massacre memorial. It is a sobering place. A nation that forgets God, is vulnerable from within. Freedom from God's Law, produces savages. I asked one kid where the memorial was, and he didn't even answer, just started walking away. Another did the same thing. Probably they are taught to not speak to strangers. But the irony is that the threats to their lives came from among their peers... Statism has no solution to the character problems of youth. We met there a neat couple, who were organizing a prayer evening there, to pray for the kids, against the spirit of this age...

The Ogg family is a true light on a hill. Families come here and get refreshed, kids can take music lessons, there is a women's support group for Slavic families and so on. We also visited the church that they attend. The preacher had a message for the kids too, a very good custom

The Proshlyak family provided great hospitality, and helped us with everything while we stayed there. They are the home education pioneers among the Slavic community of Denver.

Marie started getting sick. :/