We now have been on the road 28 days – four out of seven weeks are now behind us. We have traveled over 5000 miles, and the memories already made will be cherished for the remainder of our lives. We will have pictures to remind us of the details of this amazing journey, along with an assortment of refrigerator magnets that will be a constant reminder of places we have been and sights we have seen.

Today we will travel a little over 200 miles from Etna, Wyoming, to Gardiner, Montana. We will move from one national park – Grand Teton – to another – Yellowstone. We will marvel at the sights we will see as we go from Wyoming, into Idaho, and finally into Montana. As much as I hate to leave the Tetons, I am so excited to see the sights of yet another national park.

As I mentioned in my last post, I would like to share with you yet another encounter we have had along the way. At one of our camping spots, we were privileged to meet two gentlemen who were traveling around the country. They are avid bikers, going on two bike rides in two days in the rugged terrain of the Rocky Mountains. One evening, as we were having a casual conversation, one of them asked if he could speak with me privately. After we moved to a secluded area, he began to share with me some personal struggles he was having. That day he was celebrating six months of sobriety – a personal milestone in his ongoing struggle with alcoholism. But he was experiencing some intense struggles on that very day of celebration.

At this point I was able to share with him how God had graciously saved me from the many struggles Teresa and I faced many years ago and set our lives on a new path of spiritual freedom in Christ. He told me about his desire to be a better husband and father, and how his life had changed so drastically over the past six months. But, for some reason, he was having a time of intense struggle that very day – the day of his six-month sobriety.

He asked me about my relationship with Jesus Christ, and God opened the door for me to share with him my own personal faith journey. It was a most amazing conversation that ended with him being encouraged in his own walk with God.

Divine appointments come in so many different ways. This particular appointment was orchestrated by God because this gentleman needed someone to talk with, to share his burdens with, to seek spiritual and emotional encouragement from. He ended our conversation with a most encouraging word for me: he asked that Teresa and I pray for him, that he would remain strong in his commitment to sobriety, and that he would be a better husband and father. Teresa and I have prayed for him many times since that encounter and will continue to do so.

In my next post I will be sharing more of our amazing journey, and the personal encounters we are having along the way. Until then:

Blessings!