OurJesusJourney goes to Montana

We left Newcastle, WY and headed to Hulett, WY. We stayed on night there in the backyard of Pastor Jim Palus of First Baptist Church. He has a beautiful church and a beautiful family! They took us on a hike that seemed to be straight up during the climb. It was such a beautiful view. Hulett is a town of about 350 and is very pretty, especially from the top.

We enjoyed seeing Devil’s Tower on the way to Hulett. It is something that Matt has wanted to see since he was a kid. We even heard of a new theory about what Devil’s Tower may actually be. Scientists are now suggesting that it may be a petrified tree due to thermal imaging of a possible root system underneath. Very interesting!

After leaving Hulett we headed to Lame Deer, MT. We met with a Pastor there and spent two nights in his church, where we met a young man named Chris. He told us about a Messianic congregation in Billings, MT that would be having their Sabbath meeting on that Friday. We were planning to head to Billings anyway, so we thought that would be a great experience. We made our way to Billings and went to Everlasting Covenant Messianic Church. It was such an awesome time! They taught us some of their dance traditions and prayer traditions they practiced, especially praying over the wives and husbands and children. We also had an amazing meal with them. We really enjoyed ourselves!

This night would really be our best time in Billings. because it seemed to go down hill from there. We thought we would be able to find some free camping in the area since it was such a large town, but none at all could be found. We wound up spending the night in our truck for 4 nights in the Wal-Mart, Lowe’s and Cabela’s parking lots. We were blessed to go to the Zoo for a church service on the Sunday that we were there, but when we asked that church if we could stay in the back area of their church so that we would be in a safe place, have a restroom (they had porta-potties), and a lit-up for Matt to be able to study his Bible. We would still sleep in our truck. We just wanted to be in a safer area. They told us “no.” We were heartbroken because they were not the first “Christians” we had asked for something as simple as this. One place even told us to, “Check with our own denomination.” Billings, MT was not a pleasurable place for us, but God is good ALL the time, and He got us through it. We also ran into a man who presented himself as a Christian Missionary, but turned out to be false. He attempted to tear us down in such a mean and nasty way, but, still, God is good ALL the time, and Satan DID NOT get that victory. Finally, Faith Chapel in Billings was willing to help us with gas to book it out of town and as soon as they did, we hit the road and headed to Miles City, MT. Immediately, we received confirmation from God that it was me to go and we were heading in  right direction.

We arrived in Miles City, MT in quite a warn-out state. We went straight to the Wal-Mart, which is our focal point in any town. Not really…it’s just really nice when  town has one. We got the few things we needed as well as some directions to a free campground. When we were driving through the parking lot, we saw a large trailer attached to an RV. The side of the trailer said, “CIA: Christ in Action.” The kids were insisting we head over and speak to the people at the trailer, so we did. The man and his wife were there and their names are Denny and Sandy Nissley. He is an Assembly of God minister, as well as the founder of the “CIA.” They were ultimately headed to Rockport, TX to help in the Hurricane relief efforts with a stop in Colorado for a wedding. He gave us a copy of his book called, “Fear No Evil.” Wonderful book! He and his wife were such an encouragement to us in our time of weariness. We were spiritually and physically drained and they filled us back up with their words and their love. We are so grateful to them for their testimony and their love.

We finally made it to the County Fairgrounds to camp (FREE!) and set up our tent very late. We wound up staying there for 2 weeks with the use of the restrooms, which had showers. SUCH A BLESSING! Another joy of our time in Miles City was the Rancher’s Rodeo. It was happening at the Fairgrounds, so it was literally in “our” backyard. Matt asked if they had any work for us to do there. They had no “grown-up” jobs, but told us Nemo and Zeke could be the “runners.” That is where they would both run from one side of the field to the other, passing the papers with the scores on it. This got us into the rodeo for free, as well as some free refreshments and a little cash for the boys. It was a really fun event, something we had never seen before. A rare treat.

We visited Grace Bible Church, which was the church that Matt had spoken to from Billings that told us to come to Miles City. They blessed us greatly with groceries and gas.

We also visited Break Forth Bible Church. Here we met Justin and Jackie, along with 9 of their 10 kids. They took us into their home for dinner twice before we left town. We love and miss them! They were a great example of a strong Godly family. Break Forth was a blessing, as well. We enjoyed Biblical teachings and the welcoming spirit there. They also blessed us with gas money for the road.

While in Miles City, we were seeking a church to go to in North Dakota. No one would answer their phones or show an interest when Matt would call them. It was such a closed door. We did not understand at all what was going on. The plan (our plan) all along was to go East to North Dakota then head south from there, state to state, until we got back to Lubbock for a while. We were perplexed. All of this was in September. One day, we ran into a man who goes to Break Forth and talked to him about the plan to go North Dakota. He told us, basically, that that would be a terrible idea because the bad weather comes quickly in October. We felt strongly that he was imparting Divine wisdom, ultimately explaining why North Dakota was not working out for us.

This prompted us to seek a church in Idaho Falls, Idaho. On the first phone call, Matt spoke to a Pastor who was very moved by what we are doing. When he called the next church, the Pastor told him that he had been praying for God to send someone to him to use for their upcoming anniversary. There it was! Our open door was in Idaho Falls. We planned our time to head that way. We decided to go through Yellowstone on the way, because we would simply be crazy not to do so! We got to enjoy Old Faithful, which I had not seen since I was 9.

Next up: Idaho Falls, Idaho!!