Homeless?

Aug 9, 2017

I forgot to tell you that I got a call from St. Croix, Virgin Islands, from a long time Shaklee friend, Arlene.  She lives there and is now interested in Shaklee again.  She is my age, very sharp and excited.  She listened to the conference call on Monday and said it was very interesting.  I hope she can watch some of the Shaklee Convention on Pod Cast (Whatever that is).

 Well, I am in Atlanta, Georgia after a good trip.  I thought I had enough contacts to get in touch with, to see people on the way down.  No one returned my calls or texts, or emails in time enough to see them before I passed their area.  Interesting, so, I could have gone in my mind, a lot of places, but I chose to focus on what was next.  I called Thousand Trails main office and checked if I could stay in my car in the RV resorts where there is access to a bathroom, shower and pool.  They said I could, on the tent sites. 

OK, I called a TT RV Resort that was on my way, they said I couldn't stay in a tent site without a tent, but I could stay in the parking lot of the ranger station.  OK, I said that might work, so I drove about 25 miles off the main highway to get there and they had decided that I couldn't stay in my car anywhere on the property.  I stopped at another one and the got the same story

OK, this is about 6 PM and I had been traveling for about 9 hours, so I stopped for gas at a Truck Stop, AHAH!  I could stay at a truck stop!   I didn't want to settle in that early so I decided to drive until dark, then, find one.  Well, after 12 1/2 hours of being on the road, I finally found one (last one before Atlanta) just over the border into South Carolina.  I had my sleeping bag and "ground pad", I covered the windows with the sun protectors, the rest were tinted and the back was covered with a black tarp. I was cozy.  I parked near the bathroom and they even had a shower, if I wanted.   I had forgotten to read the instructions on how to inflate the self-inflatable sleeping bag pad, I didn't inflate it and it was a bit hard (I inflated it the next day and it would have been great, Oh well!)  I got as much sleep as I usually do (getting up to go to the bathroom, about every 2 hours, just a longer walk).  I now have a deeper appreciation for the homeless. 

The next day I was able to wash up and change clothes and get started for Atlanta.  I arrived at the FTHCM Church in Atlanta just in time for Bible Study and it was wonderful.  Pastor Starks talked about trusting God and he had an example of being homeless and realizing that it was just a condition and not who you were.  If we know Jesus as our persoal Savior and Lord, then we are Children of God, His Child.  He wants the best for His Children.  Pastor Starks didn't even know that I had been "homeless" for a night.  The Holy Spirit is so amazing!

After Bible Study, I was invited to stay over night and I had a wonderful bed and my own bathroom.  You learn to appreciate and look at things differently when you experience things.   That was a wonderful sleep!

Today, I went by our "Air B&B" house, just to see where it was and what it was like, before I picked up Rosemary from the Airport at 2 PM.  It wasn't too far and only 10 minutes (without traffic) from the Convention.  I had never experienced a "Air B&B" before but instead of paying $115 per night for a Hotel, we got a room in a house (where people live) for $40.  It is very comfortable and cozy.  There are two beds in our room and a bath next door. 

The owners are nice and it is another interesting adventure.  I will drive to the Conference and park in the garage after picking some of the others (in my group) at their Hotel, in the morning.  We registered for the Conference and it is a full schedule for the next 3 days, so I probably won't blog until Sunday.  I will have lots to tell you then.