Thursday, August 31, 2017

Nevada Update

Vacation update. Friends, we're doing well and on the way to California. Nevada is gorgeous and it is so big! We've seen snow on several Peaks as we've traveled along Interstate 80. The kids are still getting along great and we're riding well in the motorhome. We've traveled enough mountains now that I'm not near as scared of overheating this 1994 Fleetwood Bounder we purchased. God has blessed us, and we're loving our trip as a family together. Thank you for your prayers and your encouragement. So far we are only five days into our 3 week trip, and from what I've seen so far, I recommend this type of trip to anyone!  We hope to show you more of God's Beauty and Wiles family fun over the next couple of weeks!

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Quick Updates Plus Photos

It's 1:46am Eastern time, so I'm sapped and heading to bed soon.  Before I hit the hay, I did want to let my friends and family see the kids through my eyes in the last couple of days.  I've taken many photos from my cell phone, and just a few from the big camera.  We are getting a family photo in every new state we come to, and we'll share that later.  These photos were taken in two places that were off the beaten path, and there has been extra adventures with each one.  For right now, you need to know that we loved visiting Monument Rock about 30 miles outside of Oakley, KS.  It is seriously out in the middle of no where, down a long and dusty gravel road.   Then there's the Devil's Backbone, just north of Denver, CO that was in the Rockies foothills.  Both were wonderful to us.  I haven't taken any photos in Wyoming, although it has been the most majestic part of the trip yet.  I am in awe of what God has created and displayed before my eyes.  I also feel so small and humble in comparison.  Tomorrow, we descend from the Rockies through Salt Lake City, then across the desert, then up more mountains.  Big driving days are exciting in the motorhome, right?  Rawlins, Wyoming was good to us tonight as we stay in an RV park to rest up for tomorrow's big drive.  Lord willing, we'll make it to Bible Camp Thursday night or Friday morning!








Monday, August 28, 2017

Tomorrow's plan

Captain's log: Star Date: 082717 at 11:41pm CST.

Check out our vacation photos here: https://goo.gl/photos/UUEjkKe9jByv5iFP6

Everyone's asleep and I'm fading fast.  Driving through Kansas City, MO staring at a gorgeous red sunset was a highlight today. So was frozen yogurt toppings at Yogurtini, fountain finding near Kansas City, worship at Twin City CofC, and watching the boys balance on the front bumper to squeegie the front motorhome window.  We knocked out 562 miles today of our approximately 2,000 mile trek to Daybreak Camp in Felton, CA.  The goal tomorrow is to travel at least 421 miles to the mile high city of Denver, CO. Anything past that is just gravy. After that we slow down a little bit to sight see in God's beautiful creation. God has blessed us so far with a calm trip and kids who are getting along well. You'll start seeing more photos tomorrow!

Onward we go!

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Godly men at Twin City Church of Christ

Day two of our trip. We were blessed as we honor God and be encouraged by people at the Twin City Church of Christ in Festus, MO, just south of St Louis. This beautiful group of people made us smile and feel right at home on our trip. We hope to get to visit again one day! Pictured here are brothers in Christ, Patrick Adams, and Michael Walden, two men that I love deeply from Spring Mill Bible Camp.  Now we continue our trip West. California here we come!

Thanks for a good nights sleep!

With the exception of having a little girl kicking me in the back, last night was a pretty good night asleep. Thanks to the Mount Vernon Walmart for letting so many vehicles use their parking lot overnight! Now let's hit the road!

Night #1 - Walmart is Busy!

Captain's Log: Star Date 082617
The first mate and I have gotten all the crew to their quarters after a short 2 hour jaunt from Washington, IN to Mount Vernon, IL.  It was pretty uneventful so far as I listened to Latino Reggaeton while muching on sunflower seeds while everyone else dozed, even the first mate!  Since we traveled west, I enjoyed an hour an a half of a red crescent  moon as it gradually set below the horizon. The outside temp will drop into the 50's, but we're ok with leaving the furnace off and snuggling under an extra blanket.  While everything is quiet in my motorhome, outside sounds like a drag strip and a car show. Plus, the number of semi's pulled in ahead of us is astounding!  Ashley did see a little pull behind trailer complete with generator and gas tank. Ashley said, "Thats what we need when its just the two of us traveling between states to visot the grandkids ."  Tomorrow is as far ahead as I'm looking, which takes us into St. Louis and church somwhere close.
End  Log - Too sleepy

Good night and God bless.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Taking a little break from posting because we're moving!

We'll be taking a little break from posting for a few weeks as our family is investing our time directly in people and tasks as we transition the Wiles' family life from Indiana, to California, then to Tennessee!
 

The faces in the photo (family photos rock don't they?) describe our mixed emotions as we prepare to move from service in Washington Church of Christ in Washington, IN to serve as a part of Central Church of Christ in Sparta, TN. We're experiencing bitter sweet emotions during our last full week in Washington. It is a challenge to leave faithful family in Christ, friends in the community, and a city that saw a lot of the Wiles family joys, laughs, and tears over the past 6 years. The sweet emotions we experience come from looking ahead to the new chapters of adventures that will be written with those striving to honor God, desiring to love people, and making White County, TN a better place to live.

My last day of preaching in Washington will be this coming Sunday, August 20th. We'll be road-tripping a vacation for three weeks in California before we move to Sparta, with my first Sunday of service being September 24th, Central Church of Christ's 150th anniversary!

There are many of you in southern Indiana that we wish to see before we travel. If we don't get to talk to all of you, we want to encourage you to continue to grow in faith in our good God above, to love Him, and honor Him; so that in the end, we get to have a sweet reunion in Heaven. If you are ever in the middle TN area, we'd love you to stop by!

You can always follow our adventures at http://www.topherwiles.com
For service times this Sunday in Washington, visit http://www.washingtoncoc.org/
For more info about where we're moving to, visit http://spartacoc.com/